 2009-01-08 - Optimism
I first read this book about 20 years ago, have re-read it several times and referred it to numerous people. It's a great, inspirational read, including personal stories of spiritual survival. -Was happy to see it's still in print.
2009-01-04 - an extraordinary work - intensely powerful, inspiring, highly accessible, well written
how have i lived for 33 years without reading this book?
the ideas are inspiring by their merit, and even more so in response to the indescribable horror of the holocaust
and it's short, viktor frankl wrote it in just 9 days. you can read it in a few hours and start finding more meaning in your life
one paragraph on page 108 summarizes frankl's overall approach very nicely ->
"i doubt whether a doctor can answer [the meaning of life] question in general terms. for the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour. what matters, therefore, is not the meaning of a person's life at a given moment. to put the question in general terms would be comparable to the question posed to a chess champion: 'tell me, master, what is the best move in the world?' there simply is no such thing as the best or even a good move apart from a particular situation in a game and the particular personality of one's opponent. the same holds for human existence. one should not search for an abstract meaning of life. everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life to carry out a concrete assignment which demands fulfillment. therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated. thus, everyone's task is as unique as his specific opportunity to implement it."
if you are intrigued by the ideas in this paragraph, i highly recommend reading the book. frankl offers us compelling and concrete suggestions along with extraordinary examples of people creatively, lovingly and responsibly finding meaning in their "very real and concrete" lives
 2008-12-13 - Psychologist at a concentration camp
Outsiders often have a wrong conception of the prisoners' life at concentration camp. Everyone had to struggle to keep oneself alive, which brought out the brutal nature amongst the prisoners also. Some have said the best of them didn't return... The author of this book convinced himself that one has to have a meaning in one's life, in order to stay mentally and physically alive in all suffering. He who has a "why" to live for can bear almost any "how". And this is the basis in the author's own "logotherapy" also.
In the chapter "The Essence of Existence" the author claimed that the meaning of life is to be found in worldly matters rather than within man. And that self-actualization is not an attainable aim at all... -Well, I don't agree! There wouldn't be any wars anymore, if people didn't take their earthly surroundings for granted. Capitalism, egoism, dead doctrines, academics - where's the sense in all nonsense, if not in one's honest Self?? Anyway, not as good a book as all the 5-star fuss might suggest.
2008-12-02 - Really makes you appreciate life!
This is an very intense book about life and the human spirit. Someone at the Enlightened Wealth Institute recommended it to me. Really makes you appreciate growing up in a safe environment and being grateful for everything you have.
2008-11-23 - This Book Saved My Life: Create Meaning, Create Hope, Create New Life
Dr. Frankl went through the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps. While many gave into despair and gave up their will to live, Frankl fought on to create some meaning from these horrible experiences. He believed that anything in life can be dealt with as long as we are able to find meaning in it.
This book saved my life when I had lost everything I ever worked for. All my life I fought to be a champion. I got close to my dreams with national shows and sponsorship requests at 18, but I got severely injured.
Doctors said I would need painkillers and Prozac for the rest of my life. They said I would never train again. I proved them wrong.
After 2 grueling years, I got back to my peak and surpassed it at 20. Yet, in the finals of a grappling tournament, I got a severe injury that was supposed to have crippled me forever. I felt constant severe pain throughout my body.
All the best doctors and therapists said I had no hope. I was doomed to lose the body that I worked all my life for. All my dreams, businesses, relationships, and meaning came from martial arts, fitness, and health. I sacrificed everything for my dreams, and now, everyone said my dream was dead. At times, I thought I should just die with my dreams.
This book made me realize I always, always, had a choice. No matter what happens in our external circumstances, we can always decide our character.
No one can take that away from us but ourselves.
Now, 2 years and 30 doctors later, I found the most amazing doctors and masters who could heal me. They both showed me a new life and a new way that I never even dreamed possible. I learned about qi qong, tai chi, and bio-mechanics to cultivate the yin in my yang soul.
I am healing, becoming stronger, bigger, and better than ever.
The wound is the seed of our adult life; it is out of that wound that our adult life grows. In the shaman traditions, it was believed that a healer only got his powers from being wounded in battle. It was through that wound that the spirit of healing could enter. It was by healing oneself that one could heal others. You can look at your suffering and pain as disabilities, or as an ability to be a miracle, an inspiration, and a champion.
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