Wherever I Look, I See

People Who, As Children, Were Intellectually Far Beyond Their Parents And Therefore Admired By Them, But Who Also Therefore Had To Solve Their Own Problems Alone. These People, Who Give Us A Feeling Of Their Intellectual Strength And Will Power, Also Seem To Demand That We, Too, Ought To Fight Off Any Feeling Of Weakness With Intellectual Means. In Their Presence One Feels One Cannot Be Recognized As A Person With Problems Just As They And Their Problems Were Unrecognized By Their Parents, For Whom He Always Had To Be Strong.

If It's Very Painful For You To Criticize Your Friends - You're Safe In Doing It. But If You Take The Slightest Pleasure In It, That's The Time To Hold Your Tongue.

Without Realizing That The Past Is Constantly Determining Their Present Actions, They Avoid Learning Anything About Their History. They Continue To Live In Their Repressed Childhood Situation, Ignoring The Fact That Is No Longer Exists, Continuing To Fear And Avoid Dangers That, Although Once Real, Have Not Been Real For A Long Time.

Quite Often I Have Been Faced With People Who Were Praised And Admired For Their Talents And Their Achievements... According To Prevailing Attitudes, These People-the Pride And Joy Of Their Parents-should Have Had A Strong And Stable Sense Of Self-assurance. But The Case Is Exactly The Opposite... Whenever They Suddenly Get The Feeling They Have Failed To Live Up To Some Ideal Image Or Have Not Measured Up To Some Standard, Then They Are Plagued By Anxiety Or Deep Feelings Of Guilt And Shame. What Are The Reasons For Such Disturbances In These Competent, Accomplished People?

The Only Possible Recourse A Baby Has When His Screams Are Ignored Is To Repress His Distress, Which Is Tantamount To Mutilating His Soul, For The Result Is An Interference With His Ability To Feel, To Be Aware, And To Remember.