NOTE: This is the first draft of the “Justice” essay in my forthcoming book, Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas. Responses and comments welcome, no matter how brief. Justice: Metamorphosis Copyright 2013 David J. Bookbinder In the late 1950s, psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg observed that as we mature, we move progressively through three basic levels of moral development. At the pre-conventional levels, our sense of justice is self-centered, and we are concerned mainly with satisfying our own…
Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas: “Joy: Openings” (first draft)
NOTE: This is the first draft of the “Joy” essay in my forthcoming book, Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas. Responses and comments welcome, no matter how brief. Joy: Openings Copyright 2013 David J. Bookbinder What draws many of us to babies is how they seem to experience life with excitement and wonder. This is our natural state, of joy in being alive and in the world. Unfortunately, life experiences and our self-protective responses to them,…
Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas: “Intuition: Cultivation” (first draft)
NOTE: This is the first draft of the “Intuition” essay in my forthcoming book, Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas. Responses and comments welcome, no matter how brief. Intuition: Cultivation Copyright 2013 David J. Bookbinder In my dozen years of public schooling and 12 more of higher education in English, writing, and psychology, I have learned a lot of things. But never to pay attention to intuition. Like most of us, I was taught to attend…
Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas: “Independence: Declarations” (first draft)
NOTE: This is the first draft of the “Independence” essay in my forthcoming book, Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas. Responses and comments welcome, no matter how brief. Independence: Declarations Copyright 2013 David J. Bookbinder As an American, I have valued independence most of my life. Independence is highly prized here. We announced our freedom from England with a Declaration of Independence and July 4th is still our most hallowed national holiday. We see independence as…
Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas: “Illumination: Interweavings” (first draft)
NOTE: This is the first draft of the “Illumination” essay in my forthcoming book, Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas. Responses and comments welcome, no matter how brief. Illumination: Interweavings Copyright 2013 David J. Bookbinder il·lu·mi·na·tion (noun) a. The act of illuminating. b. The state of being illuminated. A source of light. Spiritual or intellectual enlightenment. Clarification; elucidation. a. The art or act of decorating a text, page, or initial letter with ornamental designs, miniatures, or…
Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas: “Humor: The world laughs” (first draft)
NOTE: This is the first draft of the “Humor” essay in my forthcoming book, Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas. Responses and comments welcome, no matter how brief. Humor: The world laughs Copyright 2013 David J. Bookbinder Long ago, when I was a technical writer at Digital Equipment Corporation, I carpooled to work with my editor. At one point in our many conversations, we were talking about the possibility of nuclear war, and I cracked a…
Hope: The thing with feathers
The most useful advice I received early in therapist training came from my first internship supervisor. If we accomplished nothing else in our initial sessions with clients, he said, “Instill hope. If they don’t have hope, they won’t come back.” Hope is not the cure for everything that can go wrong, but it is the balm that eases much of our suffering. Under the clear light of hope, catastrophizing fails to convince,…
Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas: “Healing: A compendium” (first draft)
NOTE: This is the first draft of the “Healing” essay in my forthcoming book, Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas. Responses and comments welcome, no matter how brief. Healing: A compendium Copyright 2013 David J. Bookbinder They say timing is everything and that time heals all wounds. Timing is not everything. And time alone cannot heal all wounds. In my experience as both a person and a therapist, what heals wounds is care, and what heals…
Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas: “Gratitude: Lists” (first draft)
NOTE: This is the first draft of the “Gratitude” essay in my forthcoming book, Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas. Responses and comments welcome, no matter how brief. Gratitude: Lists Copyright 2013 David J. Bookbinder While I was recovering from my Albany, NY, brush with death, one of my high school friends sent me a letter. In it, he hypothesized that as a survivor of near-death, every moment for me must be fresh and exquisitely sweet,…
Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas: “Grace: Continuations” (first draft)
NOTE: This is the first draft of the “Grace” essay in my forthcoming book, Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas. Responses and comments welcome, no matter how brief. Grace: Continuations Copyright 2013 David J. Bookbinder On February 21, 1993, at about 7:45pm, I was granted a form of grace that has shaped the rest of my life. On that evening I came within minutes of bleeding to death. Grace is a tough one, sometimes. The initial…
Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas: “Grace: Continuations” (first draft)
NOTE: This is the first draft of the “Grace” essay in my forthcoming book, Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas. Responses and comments welcome, no matter how brief. Grace: Continuations Copyright 2013 David J. Bookbinder On February 22, 1993, at about 7:45pm, I was granted a form of grace that has shaped the rest of my life. On that evening I came within minutes of bleeding to death. Grace is a tough one, sometimes. The initial…
Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas: “Generosity: Lighting the candle” (first draft)
NOTE: This is the first draft of the “Generosity” essay in my forthcoming book, Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas. Responses and comments welcome, no matter how brief. Generosity: Lighting the candle Copyright 2013 David J. Bookbinder There is a riddle that goes something like this: In Hell is a great dining table. On it are bowls of the most aromatic stew you can imagine. Sitting across from each other, with the bowls between them, are…
Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas: “Friendship: A friend in deed” (first draft)
NOTE: This is the first draft of the “Friendship” essay in my forthcoming book, Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas. Responses and comments welcome, no matter how brief. Friendship: A friend in deed Copyright 2013 David J. Bookbinder When I list the most important areas of my life, friends are in the top five, joining – equally weighted – health, purpose, creativity, and family/intimate relationships. According to a recent survey, Americans have, on average, only two…
Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas: “Forgiveness: To forgive, divine” (first draft)
NOTE: This is the first draft of the “Forgiveness” essay in my forthcoming book, Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas. Responses and comments welcome, no matter how brief. Forgiveness: To forgive, divine Copyright 2013 David J. Bookbinder Our religions all have teachings on forgiveness, evidence that forgiving and being forgiven are universally important to us. But the need for these many teachings also shows that forgiveness is, and has for millennia been, one of the more…
Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas: Responses
Just a note to let you all know that I appreciate any kind of response to these Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas pieces, no matter how brief. Thanks! – David
Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas: “Faith: Paying it forward” (first draft)
NOTE: This is the first draft of the “Faith” essay in my forthcoming book, Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas. Responses and comments welcome, no matter how brief. Faith: Paying it forward Copyright 2013 David J. Bookbinder A mentor once told me that he thought I started out as a person of great faith who had lost it. At the time, I didn’t understand what he meant. Now, I think he was on to something. Faith…
Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas: “Failure: Options” (first draft)
NOTE: This is the first draft of the “Failure” essay in my forthcoming book, Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas. Responses and comments welcome. Failure: Options Copyright 2013 David J. Bookbinder In our success-driven society, there seems to be no end of helpful adages for dealing with failure. But “Failure is not an option” is small comfort to those who believe they have already failed, “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” seldom encourages…
Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas: “Dreams: Not gone, not forgotten” (first draft)
NOTE: This is the first draft of the “Dreams” essay in my forthcoming book, Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas. Responses and comments welcome. Dreams: Not gone, not forgotten Copyright 2012 David J. Bookbinder Clients often come for therapy with the uneasy sense that something is stuck, doesn’t belong, is too big or too small, too much there or not there enough. The architecture of their lives is misshapen. They have stumbled into marriages, occupations, locations,…
Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas: “Desire: Empowering ‘yes’ and ‘no'” (first draft)
NOTE: This is the first draft of the “Desire” essay in my forthcoming book, Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas. Responses and comments welcome. Desire: Empowering “yes” and “no” Copyright 2012 David J. Bookbinder The poet Stanley Kunitz asks the question, “What makes the engine go?” and his response is “Desire, desire, desire.” Desire is what motivates us to find food when we are hungry, drink when we are thirsty, warmth when we are cold, sleep…
Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas: “Curiosity: Reviving the cat” (first draft)
NOTE: This is the first draft of the “Curiosity” essay in my forthcoming book, Fifty-Two Flower Mandalas. Responses and comments welcome. Curiosity: Reviving the cat Copyright 2012 David J. Bookbinder In my many years of formal education, from elementary through graduate school, no teacher ever suggested that I pay attention to curiosity. Not one, not even once. I was an empty vessel, waiting to be filled with Knowledge. Following my curiosity was strictly…
