The most important word learned by most people when they are toddlers is “no.” The word no is more important than Daddy or Mommy. It is more important than love, joy, sadness, excitement, or disappointment. The word no is perhaps the first definitive statement of “self.” No defines me, or rather defines what is not…

Everybody seems to have some kind of addiction.  Mine is basketball.  Despite my aging body, I can’t seem to get away from playing the game.  This means (believe it or not) that I not only get up at 5 AM twice a week to play basketball, but give up my Sunday nights to the game…

The contemporary Russian author and former dissident, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, wrote a book entitled, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch some years ago. The book was made into a movie of the same name. “One Day,” as it was called was a story of one day in the life of a man named Ivan…

I have a colleague who really does real magic in his work. The work where he does his magic, however, is not in the counseling office. Dan is not only a psychotherapist, he is also a professional magician. He has performed his magic in various venues, and sometimes uses his magical skills in a demonstration…