Irvin D. Yalom Quotes

Every act is not necessarily a message about the relationship.

The same point is made by the Hasidic Rabbi, Susya, who shortly before his death said, When I get to heaven they will not ask me, 'Why were you not Moses?' Instead they will ask 'Why were you not Susy...

About Author

Irvin David Yalom (; born June 13, 1931) is an American existential psychiatrist who is an emeritus professor of psychiatry at Stanford University, as well as author of both fiction and nonfiction.

Friendship between therapist and patients is a necessary condition in the process of therapy - necessary, but not, however, sufficient. Psychotherapy is not a substitute for life but a dress rehearsal...

چطور می توان مردی را به چنگ آورد؟سئله ساده ایه، فقط باید به چشمان یک مرد خیره شد و چند ثانیه صبر کرد. همین!

I agree with Viktor Frankl that a sense of life meaning ensues but cannot be deliberately pursued: life meaning is always a derivative phenomenon that materializes when we have transcended ourselves,...

It is noteworthy and remarkable to see how man, besides his life in the concrete, always lives a second life in the abstract…(where) in the sphere of calm deliberation, what previously possessed him c...

It’s often pretty hard to speak to others about my cancer. I have a number of pet peeves. Many folks are overly solicitous. They can’t do enough for you. There’s that Kaiser nurse who keeps asking Isn...

هیچ انسانی نیست که همیشه کامیاب شود و همیشه بیافریند، هیچ انسانی نیست که مدام در تلاش‌هایش موفق باشد، ولی حرکت در مسیر درست حتی اگر به کامیابی منجر نشود، شاید معنای زندگی و تنها پاسخ اگزیستانسیال ممکن...

اسپینوزا/ سال 1656 میلادی: مقامات مذهبی، از همه رنگش، می خواهند مانع رشد توانایی ها و استعدادهای «عقلانی» شوندرهبران مذهبی، راه «معنوی» خود را با دخالت در مشغله های سیاسی گم کرده اندمذهب و کشورداری با...

The greatest wisdom is to make the enjoyment of the present the supreme object of life because that is the only reality, all else being the play of thought. But we could just as well call it our great...

O özel olma,büyülü bir gücün etkisinde olma, kuraldışı olma, sonsuza dek korunuyor olma duygusu- ona böylesine yararlı olan tüm bu aldanışlar ikna etme güçlerini ansızın yitirmişlerdi. Artık kendi yan...

به عقیده فرانکل، معضل انسان امروزی این است که دیگر غریزه و یا سنت نیست که به او می‌گوید باید چه کند. حتی دیگر خودش هم نمی‌داند چه می‌خواهد بکند و فقط دو واکنش رفتاری نسبت به این بحران ارزش دارد، یا هم...

The second, alternatives exclude, is an important key to understanding why decision is difficult. Decision invariably involves renunciation: for every yes there must be a no, each decision eliminating...

Philip dobló, caminó junto al puerto de embarcaciones deportivas; luego atravesó Chrissy Field hasta llegar a la bahía y bordeó la orilla del Pacífico, donde las olas serenas que rompían en la playa y...

بااینکه اقدام به خودکشی به دلیل ترس از مرگ یک پارادوکس است، اما چندان ناشایع نیست. فکر خودکشی تا حدودی به فرد اجازه می‌دهد چیزی را تحت کنترل درآورد که تاکنون او را کنترل می‌کرده است.

Religious beliefs are culture bound…land overwhelmed by poverty, overcrowding, starvation, disease, class oppression and lack of any hope for a better future were what generated these old beliefs. Did...

Schopenhauer and Spinoza distilled, condensed, and funneled through the pupil, along the optic nerve, and directly into our occipital lobes. I’d love to be able to eat with my eyes—I’m

اجازه بده از قول اِپیکور خردمند یونان باستان به تو چیزی بگویمهدف از زندگی چیستپاسخ او این است که ما باید جویای آتاراکسیا باشیمترجمه اش می شود «آرامشِ درونی» یا رهاییِ از درد و رنج هیجانیاپیکور گفته: د...

Should we not create—should we not become—before we reproduce? Our responsibility to life is to create the higher, not to reproduce the lower.

Some cannot loosen their own chains and can nonetheless redeem their friends.   You must be ready to burn yourself in your own flame: how could you become new, if you had not first become ashes? —Thus...