Looking Beyond (7) – Connecting with Nature

I had already started to look beyond scepticism (see Looking Beyond - 6) through my own experiences. Having discovered the poetry of Thomas Hardy, William Wordsworth and Emily Dickinson, I discovered a feeling for nature. Whilst struggling with scepticism at university, I used to cycle out to the fields to find some peace, and I …

Logos Therapy (5) – The Human Spirit

“Logos therapy” is a phrase I have developed by exploring how the ideas of Victor Frankl (“logotherapy”) and spirituality (“logos”) could be combined. In Understanding Man’s Search for Meaning, Elizabeth Lukas, a follower of Frankl’s, writes: “human beings are  more than mere victims of their pasts or  mere results of their learning”p.1 She goes on: …

Logos Therapy (2) – Why does life have a meaning?

Why does life have a meaning? Victor Frankl's "logotherapy" sought to help people discover meaning and purpose in their lives as way of helping them to re-discover their mental and emotional health. As Elizabeth Lukas wrote: The idea of Logos Therapy, however, goes further, and seeks the spiritual purpose behind life in Christian spirituality. Created …

A Psychological / Spiritual Reflection – Logos Therapy (1)

First, Logotherapy "Logotherapy" is an approach to psychology developed by Victor Frankl. Frankl was a survivor of a Nazi concentration camp, and his short book Man's Search for Meaning is one of the most profound books I know - both as an account of living in a death camp and for his theory of Logotherapy …

Inspiring Paintings – Apelles, and spiritual nakedness

Apelles, a painter from Ancient Greece (c. 4th century B.C.) is fascinating looking backwards in time, as it were, because we see in his work the models that influenced the much better known works of Renaissance painters like Botticelli and Raphael. Look at these parallels for example: Botticelli's famous work The Birth of Venus comes …

Reflections on the Rule of St. Benedict -Prologue, 2. Freedom!

“The labour of obedience will bring you back to him from whom you had drifted through the sloth of disobedience…Give up your own will… armed with the strong and noble weapons of obedience…” What I like about the Rule of St. Benedict is that it is active.  It is something we can do something about. …