!!!!!!!! ALFRED ADLER !!!!!!!!!!!!

Adler was a contemporary of Freud. [Be careful! Just as is the case today with our understanding of Jesus teachings, for the same reason, do not, repeat, do not look to any of the "followers" of Adler to understand his work. NEVER. Go to his original writings (link above.) Having said that, to help you guage the credibility of what follows, and the cursory evidence as to where Adler falls in today's field of psychology I point you to a 6o second scan (no longer than that!) of International Association of Individual Psychology, Alfred Adler Graduate School, and dozens of other organizations world-wide.

Adler was as Healthy as Freud was Mentally Sick. Freud is to be forgiven. In essence it is as though was born into and lived his entire life in a mental ward for the seriously insane. Freud had absolutely no concept of "Health." You cannot have a valid psychology without experience and grasp of Health. How can you know what direction to move your clients?

Freud and Adler worked together. Adler broke off in his own direction.

Freud, in a society in Lust with burgeoning Capitalism (mandate to abandon brotherly responsibility; just invented in Freud's time) became its Darling. Freud validated that the toxic effect of inhumane competition was "normal" and therefore something to be accepted; something to be resigned to. It was a perfect marriage!

The parallel between the first 80 years of Jesus' life and that of Adler is enormous in that they both developed an tremendously loyal, potent, committed following that was in the vast minority and either ridiculed or ignored by the "main stream." Adler considered his psychology a "scientific" rendering of Jesus teachings. He was correct. God forgive me for not seeing the global implications until this week.

ESSENCE OF ADLER'S THEORY:
* We are born with an inbuilt paradigm. We WILL see humanity / others as family to be servant to; or enemy to be feared and exploited.
* We are far worse than terrible at managing this paradigm.
* Environment is the key determinant of selecting the paradigm. The environment if courageously "friendly" is likely to cause shift to the "friendly" paradigm in the other - OTHERISHNESS. The environment if at all "hostile" is likely to evoke the paradigm "enemy," "other" to be exploited - SELFISHNESS.

One of the five most difficult, MOST IMPORTANT books I have ever read is Adler's, "The Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler." Please get it, read it and understand it. Now. Before it is too late.