The Meaning Project

I always get a little skeptical when standard behaviors for healthy humans become buzzwords - especially when those buzzwords seem somewhat politically motivated or forced in a way that causes the concepts to lose meaning. I've been curious about the "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" movement - now including "Belonging", for quite some time. Mostly because it seems forced, or maybe not fully embr...

This is a LinkedIn Live show with Cam Beaudoin of Accelerated Accessibility. In this stream, Cam and I talk about the nature of Mental Health and Meaning as it relates to today's post-pandemic (hopefully!) workplace climate. I even manage to sneak in some benefits of the MBTI here! Enjoy!

Sexual infidelity is often considered to be a 'deal breaker' in committed relationships. It is something I work with often in my clinical work, and I am happy to say, those couples who put forth the effort, DO come back from it. However, BETRAYAL takes on many forms - some so innocuous, we often don't consider them to be a breach of the committed contract. But they are. And they should be avoided...

I could sit and chat with these two wonderful individuals for days - but witnessing them go back and forth on all things Frankl and meaning; that was truly special. Pam and Alex are co-founders of The Viktor Frankl Institute of America. In this episode, Alex discusses the history of his grandfather's 10 Theses of The Person and the modern application of these principles, and both of them share abo...

Recently translated and released on ViktorFrankl.org, Dr. Frankl's 10 Theses About the Person is considered to be "a fundamental text on Frankl's conception of the human being." You can tell, about 2/3 through the podcast, that I am in way over my head on this one... Fortunately, we will have a few people a bit smarter than me on the podcast soon to continue to discuss this writing. I thought it w...

I recently finished reading Johann Hari's latest book, Stolen Focus - Why You Can't Pay Attention and How to Think Deeply Again. I found it to be well researched and informative, and perhaps a little unsettling; so I thought I would share my perspective on it with you.

The past few years have been full of change in the work world, regardless of your occupation or vocation. In this episode, Rabbi B. and I discuss the logotherapeutic value of work in discovering meaning and in living a fulfilling life.

Rabbi B. and I discuss one of the most famous anecdotes from the life of Viktor Frankl and how you can apply it to your life. When Dr. Frankl was escorted to the Nazi concentration camps of WWII, he carried one thing with him - the notes for his manuscript, his life's work, the notes from decades of research, study, and practice, that he hoped to publish after the war. Upon entering the gates, eve...

Current events and modern times have been stressful - and it seems that the recent few weeks have really bothered some people. Rabbi B. and I thought it would be helpful to share some logotherapeutic - or even "logo-philosophical", if I can coin an new term, ideas to help find meaning amidst current events and difficulties.

Going beyond the traditional view of "LOVE" this Valentine's Day to discuss the self-transcendent and unselfish view of love that helps us all to discover Meaning in our lives with Rabbi B. and Dr. D.

Rabbi B. goes deep inside the Enneagram - what it means, how it works, how to use it to better understand yourself, and how to "defy" the negative aspects of your nature. From there, we segue into my use of the MBTI with work and career planning for individuals, and then couples and work-group assessment and conflict management. You can tell we love these topics, and probably could've gone for a f...

Rabbi B. and I discuss our favorite - perhaps most preferred - assessments for understanding personality and individual differences, and quickly dive into the dark side of assessment from a logotherapeutic perspective - the danger of reducing a person to a label, number, or set of letters. Enjoy!

After taking a break through the holidays, Rabbi B. returns to discuss plans for continued podcasting and some possible other ideas for 2022. Of course, we also find ourselves waxing philosophic on Frankl, Logotherapy, and Meaning. Your feedback would definitely be appreciated!

We live in a world that is often trying to sell us happiness. But, as Viktor Frankl writes, we cannot pursue happiness, but it must ensue from meaning based activities. Here is a list of sources of meaning based happiness from a recent group I conducted.

A new year is often cause for resolutions and goal-setting. But instead, for this year, I am recommending choosing "words to live by". As promised in a Monday Morning Update a few weeks ago, here is a discussion on the words I am choosing for 2022 - Balance, Discipline, Speak, and Write. Enjoy!

One last set of logotherapy techniques before the new year - kind of a "bonus" podcast, or, really, more of an info dump so that I can share this last logotherapy lecture with you before re-assessing and refocusing for next year.

This is one the logotherapy techniques I love to use most! Maieutic questioning, or Socratic Dialogue, is the art of guiding yourself, or someone else, usually clients in my case, sometimes my kids, down a path of further self analysis and self-discovery. Here is a little sample of it.

This discussion is all about “reflection” - not sitting and thinking about yourself kind of reflection, but the technique of “dereflection” and the dangers of hyper-reflection. Reflect for a moment, if you like. But be sure to take action on it.

I was pretty passionate about the idea of self-transcendence when I first wrote this several years ago. It's safe to say I'm even more passionate about it now - in the 5-6 years since I wrote this, I think the idea has become far more pervasive in my life, and hopefully in the work that I do. From the original offering of this lecture: "If there is nothing else you take out of ALL of this informat...

Dr. Frankl did intend for logotherapy to be a treatment within itself, but considered it to be a helpful addition to any form of treatment. However, this was in the consideration of true mental illness. In our times of existential stress, media fatigue, and societal anxiety, I would argue that maybe logotherapy is THE treatment - or at least a set of attitudes - we might all benefit from.

Just quick update on what's coming up next - the second set of Logotherapy Lectures focused on tools and techniques you can use everyday in your life. The "secret sauce" of logotherapy bottled up for you to take home. - Enjoy!

Rabbi B. and I got together for one more discussion before taking a break before the holiday season.  Through this discussion, we address the historic and current meaning of the holiday season.  Although the holidays are typically times of great joy - or at least that is the expectation, sometimes we may experience difficulties and darkness - hopefully some of our suggestions here can help.  - Enj...

In a world where "meta" represents an altered reality aimed at re-inventing or perhaps evening replacing our current reality, somewhat like that in "Ready Player 1", Rabbi B. and get a little meta-physical and maybe even a little meta-cognitive and discuss the reality of "Meaning".

The first discussion on logotherapy between Rabbi Baruch HaLevi and I. A fun discussion about our path to logotherapy, and the ideas we plan to discuss in the future. Enjoy!

My first foray into Tragic Optimism, and the story of Dr. Long. You’ll probably hear a lot of Dr. Long’s story, and others like it, in The Meaning Project, but this was my first taste of it.