village voice > people > The Interview by Rachel Aviv
Many of your books include charts, questionnaires and equations, which show readers how to more efficiently deal with their unhappiness. Are there dangers in seeing deep mental processes as a formula?
It’s not a formula. It’s several different formulas. I encourage USA, Unconditional Self Acceptance. I accept me, myself, my personality, whether or not I do well. I prefer to do well, but I don’t put my worth on the line. And I accept you—with your [cough attack] stupidity and failings—whether or not you do well. And I accept life, which is bad, without demanding that it be exactly the way I want it to be. I avoid the words ‘should,’ ‘ought’ and ‘must.
As much as I think that CBT, RET or whatever they call it these days is the enemy of the soul and healing (even though “research” shows it is “effective”), my heart goes out to this old bugger. No doubt he is a spunky genius! I like this interview and saved a copy to txt.