So Near and Yet So Far
In a Rockville, Maryland, churchyard near the site of Chestnut Lodge, the defunct psychoanalytic mecca, F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, lie buried. Inscribed on their shared tombstone is the final sentence of “The Great Gatsby,” which encapsulates the theme of his novel and evokes the challenge of analytic treatment: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
An Analyst Does Yoga
Warrior two is a strong, balanced, yet flexible pose–a neutral stance, grounded to reality, allowing for grace.
I first need to root down but not be locked in. I must be able to straighten and bend. By imagining that I am pulling my feet toward each other, I enter the isometric, generating force while remaining still. Ideally, I become immovable in the face of distractions. With my arms I reach in both directions and encompass. I face forward but bend backward to be greeted by a heart-opening surprise.
W. H. Auden on Sigmund Freud: A Eulogy and a Warning
W. H. Auden’s 1940 poem, “In Memory of Sigmund Freud,” takes on renewed relevance today. He extolls Freud as “no more a person now but a whole climate of opinion.” Yet he also warns that this “climate” is vulnerable to powerful interests who see it as a threat.