On Perception.

"People are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them." ~Epictetus (1st Century AD, Stoic philosopher)
(as cited by Albert Ellis 1995, stated by Gerald Corey, 2001 in Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy). I remember studying the Stoics in philosophy, and thinking that it tracked with some of my views on life.

I must make some final choices for the paper I have to write describing which, what and why (from the ten most used, most well known that the course covered) of the theories that have the best fit with my life philosophies, beliefs and values. I need to limit my choices for a couple of reasons, even if I believe that in the future I will be an eclectic sort of counselor, using the tools that seem to suit the needs of the client in front of me. One is that I do need an understanding of my particular foundation(s)- the place where my subjective nature will look first and feels most comfortable. At this moment, the more important reason is that I have to complete this paper, this weekend, and not have a 30 page project.

Of course I have been making notes all along. Existential psychology probably fits fairly well with my life view except for one key component. I don't think guilt and anxiety are necessary components of the human condition, nor do I feel comfortable with the belief that we have anxiety because of our awareness of our aloneness, finiteness and our responsibility for making the choices for our life. I don't think that is a never sort of cause for anxiety, but I don't believe that it is necessarily an essential cause or that everyone has this anxiety.

Rationale for my other choices will probably appear over the next day or so. Cognitive/Behavioral has to be among them- existential choice, plus practical ways to look at current problems; Adlerian, and others.

I have three other projects to work on for my academic studies this weekend. My father is in the area (from the Midwest) so I will be visiting him on Saturday too, driving to the San Diego area where my sister lives. It will be a busy weekend and Sunday is likely to be a late night.