Logotherapy and Recovery: The Meaning of Life and Death

We live in an age when the meaning and purpose of life are often less clear than ever before. An age when we’re asking questions of doctors we should be asking priests - but few priests seem able to provide meaningful answers to today’s spiritual seekers. Enter Viktor Frankl.

Frankl was a Jewish psychiatrist whose pioneering work known as Logotherapy has helped millions of suffering men and women begin asking the right questions of life and finding answers that satisfy their souls.

In this series, we explore Frankl’s book The Doctor and the Soul. Fr. Bill’s guest and tour guide is Tom Lavin, a therapist, teacher, and friend who has studied Frankl’s work for years and helped many addicts and alcoholics find new or renewed meaning and purpose in their recovery. This episode explores the existential issues surrounding Life and Death.

Show Notes:

Tom Lavin is a Psychotherapist, Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) and a Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor. He’s served for many years as Adjunct Faculty, University of Nevada School of Medicine, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Tom’s website and newsletter can be accessed at: www.easeap.com/

Tom’s LIVE BETTER television series provides tools to help people face and overcome their anxiety and other mental health and addiction issues. Be sure to download the worksheets that go along with the helpful videos. Access here.

https://contextualscience.org/tom_lavin_mft_lcadc_acata_live_better_psychoeducat

Video of Viktor Frankl: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlC2OdnhIiQ

Bill Wilson article on Emotional Sobriety:

60 Values to Live by – Choose 3 and get going.

1. Acceptance: to be open to and accepting of myself, others, life etc

2. Adventure: to be adventurous; to actively seek, create, or explore novel or stimulating experiences

3. Assertiveness: to respectfully stand up for my rights and request what I want

4. Authenticity: to be authentic, genuine, real; to be true to myself

5. Beauty: to appreciate, create, nurture or cultivate beauty in myself, others, the environment etc

6. Caring: to be caring towards myself, others, the environment etc

7. Challenge: to keep challenging myself to grow, learn, improve

8. Compassion: to act with kindness towards those who are suffering

9. Connection: to engage fully in whatever I am doing, and be fully present with others

10. Contribution: to contribute, help, assist, or make a positive difference to myself or others

11. Conformity: to be respectful and obedient of rules and obligations

12. Cooperation: to be cooperative and collaborative with others

13. Courage: to be courageous or brave; to persist in the face of fear, threat, or difficulty

14. Creativity: to be creative or innovative

15. Curiosity: to be curious, open-minded and interested; to explore and discover

16. Encouragement: to encourage and reward behaviour that I value in myself or others

Equality: to treat others as equal to myself, and vice-versa

17. Excitement: to seek, create and engage in activities that are exciting, stimulating or thrilling

18. Fairness: to be fair to myself or others

19. Fitness: to maintain or improve my fitness; to look after my physical and mental health and wellbeing

20. Flexibility: to adjust and adapt readily to changing circumstances

21. Freedom: to live freely; to choose how I live and behave, or help others do likewise

22. Friendliness: to be friendly, companionable, or agreeable towards others

23. Forgiveness: to be forgiving towards myself or others

24. Fun: to be fun-loving; to seek, create, and engage in fun-filled activities

25. Generosity: to be generous, sharing and giving, to myself or others

26. Gratitude: to be grateful for and appreciative of the positive aspects of myself, others and life

27. Honesty: to be honest, truthful, and sincere with myself and others

28. Humour: to see and appreciate the humorous side of life

29. Humility: to be humble or modest; to let my achievements speak for themselves

30. Industry: to be industrious, hard-working, dedicated

31. Independence: to be self-supportive, and choose my own way of doing things

32. Intimacy: to open up, reveal, and share myself -- emotionally or physically – in my close personal relationships

33. Justice: to uphold justice and fairness

34. Kindness: to be kind, compassionate, considerate, nurturing or caring towards myself or others

35. Love: to act lovingly or affectionately towards myself or others

36. Mindfulness: to be conscious of, open to, and curious about my here-and-now experience

37. Order: to be orderly and organized

38. Open-mindedness: to think things through, see things from other’s points of view, and weigh evidence fairly.

39. Patience: to wait calmly for what I want

40. Persistence: to continue resolutely, despite problems or difficulties.

41. Pleasure: to create and give pleasure to myself or others

42. Power: to strongly influence or wield authority over others, e.g. taking charge, leading, organizing

43. Reciprocity: to build relationships in which there is a fair balance of giving and taking

44. 45. Respect: to be respectful towards myself or others; to be polite, considerate and show positive regard

45. Responsibility: to be responsible and accountable for my actions

46. Romance: to be romantic; to display and express love or strong affection

47. Safety: to secure, protect, or ensure safety of myself or others

48. Self-awareness: to be aware of my own thoughts, feelings and actions

49. Self-care: to look after my health and wellbeing, and get my needs met

51. Self-development: to keep growing, advancing or improving in knowledge, skills, character, or life experience.

52. Self-control: to act in accordance with my own ideals

53. Sensuality: to create, explore and enjoy experiences that stimulate the five senses

54. Sexuality: to explore or express my sexuality

55. Spirituality: to connect with things bigger than myself

56. Skilfulness: to continually practice and improve my skills, and apply myself fully when using them

57. Supportiveness: to be supportive, helpful, encouraging, and available to myself or others

58. Trust: to be trustworthy; to be loyal, faithful, sincere, and reliable

59. Insert your own unlisted value here:

60. Insert your own unlisted value here: *** Once you’ve marked each value as V, Q, N (Very, Quite, or Not so important), go through all the Vs, and select out the top three that are most important to you in this domain of life, at this point in time. The next step is to start looking at ways to live these values, in this area of life; things you can say and do, guided by these values.

The Doctor and the Soul via Amazon