HUMAN FREEDOM AND THE GOOD LIFE

How to achieve personal freedom and the good life by means of alternative holistic approaches: 1 A natural approach and natural way 2 Deceptive help of drugs 3 Long-term solutions 4 The "mind" and "body"- a totally holistic approach 5 A natural therapy of "crazy" behavior 6 "Psychiatric symptoms" as psychosocial signals 7 A natural approach to physical manifestations 8 The place of drugs in natural psychotherapy 9 Human rights, human dignity and a crime against humanity 10 The goals of each natural therapy session 11 The role of dialogue in natural psychotherapy 12 Why resolution of underlying problems is important 13 A simplifying, healthy, global approach to a better life 14 The Core Conflict 15 Understanding deception 16 Natural psychotherapy as a gentle and gradual process 17 Important self-discoveries

18 Practical pursuits and results

1. A NATURAL APPROACH AND NATURAL WAY The ways and approaches of natural psychotherapy fully follow a holistic biopsycho-social and psycho-ecological model. Natural therapy completely has freed itself from the reductionist, drug-obsessed psychiatric model. In natural therapy's approach psychological disturbances and suffering are not regarded as medical illnesses. All psychological distress is seen as resulting from fully natural and psychologically understandable problems in living. And, most importantly, the methods of natural psychotherapy aim to understand the whole psycho-social and spiritual context that causes one's problems and suffering. Once one understands what the biosocial causes of one's suffering andproblemsare, one can learnhow to solve the problems and eliminate the suffering in completely positive and natural ways. What specifically are these natural ways? First, persons seeking help are taught specifically how to navigate the difficult transitional states that are labeled "mental illnesses." They learn new positive perspectives and the most effective methods of problem solving. And then, each person learns how to make specific and general constructive changes to attain and maintain the freedom to have more authentic, responsible, loving, fulfilling and happier ways of life. And this is accomplished by considering, in depth, each individual's uniqueness and distinctive goals in life. One learns how to become aware and clear about one's goals in one's relationships, in one's career and work, and in one's relationships to others, one's society and in one's ways of relating to the natural world. And once one is clear about one's choices of goals - on a daily basis - one becomes able work out the specific ways to attain these goals, and then specific ways to maintain them.

Natural therapy achieves such goal clarification and goal enactment and through the specific use of a variety of consciousness-raising, psychosocial, humanistic and holistic ways that integrate cognitive, relational, psychodynamic, gestalt and Zen Buddhist ideas. CLICK HERE for CONTACT INFORMATION All these approaches help with the realization of one's freedom and the attainment of the good life - for oneself, one's loved ones, other human beings, one's society, and always also one's environment and the natural world. How? The eclectic ways of natural therapy accomplish this by means of natural and creative common sense conversation and brain-storming. And such positive and productive conversation is made possible because of every person's ever-present (though too often hidden) bio-social resilience, creativity and inner natural strengths.
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2. DECEPTIVE HELP OF DRUGS Natural psychotherapy discourages the use of mind altering drugs, because the "help" they appear to give is deceptive. Drugs can in fact be quite damaging because they mask the transitionalsignals for change which always accompany self-destructive behavior - the so-called, "symptoms" of a so-called "mental disease." Interestingly, these "symptoms" are all also part of one's creative attempts to rid oneself of long-standing self-destructive habits. Furthermore, such deceptive "help" of drugs fosters the current psychiatrically fostered mass delusion that the pain and emotional agony accompanying a realistically bad life situation ( i.e., a symptom) is a "medical disease." What a "psychiatric symptom" really is, is an emotionally charged psycho-social reaction and response to a radically damaging and disturbing situation. And often a psychological symptom also is a response to one's own ineffective, self-defeating, and desperate ways of dealing with that bad situations.

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3. LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS Rather than relying on "a quick fix" with drugs, natural psychotherapy focuses on learning how to evaluate and then make positive choices that lead to constructive and satisfying long-term solutions. These solutions can be attained because people discover that they can learn not only how to become aware of their freedom but also how to actually exercise their freedom. For example, one learns how to choose to replace regret and blame of oneself and others with focused constructive planning and actions. One learns how to become practical and how to deal effectively with one's everyday difficulties of life, as well as with life's cruelties, misfortunes and disasters - past and present. And also, one learns to recognize and understand the reasons one may have for falling for deceptions by oneself and by others. And then, one learns how to take personal and active responsibility for one's future: one learns how to avoid physical as well as psychological toxic patterns in oneself, in others, and in one's environment. In other words, in natural psychotherapy people learn how to enhance their natural resilience and how to give up being wreckers of their lives and become builders instead! This generally requires the following: (1) that you have learned how to discover and actually get to know yourself so that you can actually be yourself and simultaneously have good relationships (2) that your family, social group and society are not able to block your freedom (3) that you have learned how to eliminate your own self-defeating habit patterns that may actually block your freedom and (4) that you have acquired and practice a life-style that enhances well-being. CLICK HERE for CONTACT INFORMATION

BECOMINGONE'STRUESELF: Each human being, from early infancy on, is happiest when free to express her or his natural and spiritual true self creatively in an atmosphere of good, supportive and non-toxic relations. Then, and only then, can a person be relatively free of the anger, anxiety, depression, panic, harmful behaviors, psychosomatic illnesses and distress caused by the deep frustration of not being one's authentic independent self. BECOMING CARING AND COMPASSIONATE: In fact, only when one is able to express one's natural spiritual self is it possible to develop self-respect and be truly compassionate and caring for oneself and for others. That is why personal natural therapy - the process of becoming a person - is so important. Freeing one's natural self as well as creating and attaining the kind of selfone values and cherishes is an important accompaniment to the other modes of natural therapy. UNLEARNING DESTRUCTIVE HABITS AND BECOMING THE SELF YOU VALUE: To become the self one values, requires awareness of what one's short-term and long-terms goals (e.g. relationship, spiritual, health and career goals) are. And once you have that awareness, you can learn how to achieve these goals. And then comes the most significant part: actually putting into practice being yourselfon a regular daily basis. Personal, individual natural therapy increases the benefits you can get from natural couplestherapy, marriage counseling, pre-marital counseling, sex therapy, family therapy, career counseling etc. Individual, personal natural therapy, especially helps with harmonizing issues dealing with the integration of work life and family life.

Harmonizing and integrating your work and family life is important no matter what kind of work you do. It is important whether you are an employee, employer, entrepreneur, professional, executive, high-level executive, CEO, artist, writer, performer, scientist or in the world of finance, law, administration, government, politics etc.

Some of the personal habits that invariably interfere with anyone's self-growth, selfrespect, general relationships and especially with couples, marital and family relations are: being rigid or impulsive, negative, bossy, uncommunicative, inconsiderate, unkind, unloving, withdrawing, blaming, guilt-arousing, passive-aggressive or given to outbursts of temper. CLICK HERE for CONTACT INFORMATION Natural therapy's practical, freeing, and self-empowering ways are especially of value in helping people unlearn such learned negative habits. Natural therapy is especially useful in dealing with cross-cultural, racial, religious andmulticultural issues that may interfere with harmonious interpersonal relations. Developing a free, creative and calmer self is facilitated by the use of Natural Psychotherapy's Core Awareness Approach. And what are the approaches of becoming aware of one's Core? They involve becoming aware of one's uniqueness and creativity: reaching awareness of the universality of adversity; awareness of one's own and others' wants, desires, goals as well as of one's and others' limitations, imperfections and lacks; awareness of the principles of non-importance, context, reciprocity and effect; awareness of principles of least effort and wuwei; awareness of the reasons why love, caring, kindness, compassion and moral depth are essential for well-being).

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4. THE "MIND" AND "BODY" - A TOTALLY HOLISTIC APPROACH Natural psychotherapy conceives of the mind-body relation as a holistic unit. This is based on clinical and empirical observations that the body influences the mind and that the mind influences the body.

In fact, it is logically more correct to say that mind-body relations are not two processes influencing each other, but are one unitary complex process manifesting itself through the physical or through the mental by means of constant transfer of "information." Thus what we call physical or mental are our perceptions from these two views. These are two perspectives, two viewpoints of a unitary, holistic, single very complex interactive process - human life. And each human life is regarded as thoroughly interactive; it is influenced by, and influences, one's whole bio-psycho-social, spiritual and environmental situation. One becomes ecologically aware and responsible. It is therefore always important for the natural psychotherapist to be knowledgeable about the workings of the complexities of mind, body and one's natural environment. It is thus as important to know psychology, sociology, ecology, history, the humanities and the "social sciences" in general, as it is to know physiology, neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, genetics, and the "biological sciences" in general. Having a generalist background is what makes it possible for the natural psychotherapist, to be able to evaluate the extensive research and clinical literature. As a result of this generalist viewpoint, the various functional psychological and spiritual conditions labeled "mental illnesses" can be viewed not narrowly as biological diseases, but broadly asnaturalbio-psycho-social reactions - often automatic and self-defeating - to oppressive, repressive, perplexing, confusing and stressful life situations.
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5. A NATURAL THERAPY OF "CRAZY" BEHAVIOR Self-defeating, highly emotional outbursts and extreme reactions to stress - often characterized by panic, despair, confusion, emotional turmoil and anger or rage filled temper outbursts - result in disordered, unhappy lives. Though such natural reactions may appear "strange," "bizarre" or "crazy," it is important to keep in mind, that once they are talked about and examined in a calm, gentle, compassionate and clear manner during natural psychotherapy, their cryptic, symbolic meanings can be understood. The "crazy" ways cease to feel overwhelming and impossible to change.

So called "insanity" doesn't seem mysterious anymore. Instead, the "crazy" and socially unacceptable ways people behave at times are seen to have understandable causes. And the resulting physiological and psychological upheavals are seen as perfectly understandable results of the interpersonal relations that lead to emotional suffering and distress, but that can change for the better. Positive change resulting form a natural therapy approach can sometimes be achieved quickly, but can also take months or years. People are only able to give up "madness" and self-destructiveness if they feel safe enough and strong enough to look at completely new perspectives. And they can do that if they are willing to examine new cognitive and emotional ways to handle their fears, confusion, terrors, despair, and false feelings of hopelessness and false ideas of powerlessness about themselves. Similarly, they need to examine and learn how to give up their negative feelings and ideas about others, their situation and the natural environment.
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6. "SYMPTOMS" AS PSYCHOSOCIAL AND SPIRITUAL SIGNALS In natural psychotherapy all "mental symptoms" are considered transitional alerting reactions that something is amiss - personally, socially or ecologically. "Symptoms" are always seen asnecessary signals that one needs to become aware that something harmful in one's life needs attention - needs to be looked at objectively and critically. Symptoms can then be used constructively as one finally learns through natural psychotherapy how to make the practical positive changes in one's way of life: in one's relationships and in one's natural environment that one has not known how to make in the past. One learns that positive changes are necessary to get rid one's emotional suffering, turmoil and inner darkness. Furthermore, through natural psychotherapy one can learn specifically how one's "symptoms" (whether frightening, angry, depressing or confused feelings, thoughts or fantasies) are really imaginative and poetic expressions of, and metaphors for one's mental and spiritual anguish, as well as one's predicaments and quandaries in life.

This means that although the "psychological symptoms" are creative achievements that may help one survive, they are also often grossly self-defeating and require transformation into creative self-enhancing patterns of daily living. Once understood in a natural, non-pathologizing way, all symptoms can then serve assignals that an oppressive or self-oppressing situation, as well as unresolved unconscious psychological conflicts exist. Symptoms serve as wake-up calls. Symptoms exist for the achievement of healthier adaptation to reality: to help you become awake and aware that you need to make the choice to start productive changes in yourself and in your interrelations with others and in your interaction with your environment. Thus, thanks to symptoms, your friendships, love relationships, family, work, educational or other significant relations and ecological situations get to be calmly and carefully explored, and steadily improved, through natural psychotherapy.
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CLICK HERE for CONTACT INFORMATION 7. A NATURAL APPROACH TO PHYSICAL MANIFESTATIONS Even physical manifestations caused by infection, trauma, tumors, chemicals and toxic substances, drug use or drug withdrawal, immune disorders, etc. must be examined in terms of one's physical environment, one's life style, mores, socioeconomic circumstances, beliefs, values and goals in life. Thus, all physical manifestations, in addition to being medically treated, are always also explored in natural psychotherapy in terms of psycho-social and ecological factors. During the process of natural psychotherapy it is kept in mind that whenever people live under extreme stress, are exposed to severe trauma, or live inauthentic and unfulfilled lives they may become dissociated from their real desires, strivings and natural psychological, physiological and ecological balances. When imbalances happen, many people develop a variety of psychological and physiological symptoms and emotionally intense, self-defeating, reactions and views. These intense emotional reactions, then naturally cause a large variety

of physiological, neurological, neuro-skeletal, neuro-muscular and biochemical imbalances and impairments. Obviously, this view is broadly bio-psycho-social. It recognizes the obvious: that human beings have an infinite variety of thoughts and often very powerful emotions that symbolically express their wide and differing experiences in life. And this sharply contrasts with the narrow, dehumanizing, mechanical and reductionist view of modern biological psychiatry.
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8. THE PLACE OF DRUGS IN NATURAL PSYCHOTHERAPY If someone wishes to use drugs for analgesic, recreational, or other purposes, that is a choice each individual needs to make. In natural therapy it is made clear, however, that being drugged, drunk, and "chemically calm" or "chemically happy" will diminish the benefits of natural psychotherapy, or any psychotherapy for that matter. It is therefore generally more practical not to take drugs while in psychotherapy. But that is something that has to be carefully evaluated in each individual situation, jointly by the natural therapist, the person seeking help, and if called for, in consultation with other family members and professionals involved as consultants or as members of a treating team. And throughout this process, each person's natural resilience and unique strengths and weaknesses are carefully considered while generalizations are assiduously avoided. But, above all, in a therapeutic approach no one should ever be directly or indirectly coerced, unduly influenced and urged or propagandized to take drugs one does not want to take. If people behave violently, destructively or are a danger to themselves or others, natural therapy may not be possible and the usual law enforcement procedures may be required to deal with the actual law breaking actions. CLICK HERE for CONTACT INFORMATION 9. HUMAN RIGHTS, HUMAN DIGNITY AND A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY

In all situations, careful consideration is given to the person's human rights, immediate and long-term welfare, health and safety. Also, unless not possible, (as in a comatose person) all assessments and decisions, especially if the use of drugs is considered, are made jointly by the natural therapist, the person seeking psychotherapy, and others who may be involved in the therapeutic process, whether family or other professionals. But in no circumstances is anyone ever cajoled, urged, tricked, inveigled or forced into taking drugs against her or his own free will in the practice of natural therapy. The natural therapist always aims for total disclosure, for careful and considered evaluation of any method considered. The consistent emphasis in natural therapy is on making available all the positive and negative effects of all procedures offered, so that they can be slowly, carefully and critically studied and evaluated. Each individual's wishes, wholeness as a human being, freedom to choose how to live, and human and civil rights are always respected and never violated in natural psychotherapy. Thus, all physically invasive or assaultive "psychiatric treatments" such as lobotomies, body implants, electroshock, or forced psychiatric drugging for any of the so-called "psychiatric disorders," are always shunned. In fact, they are all opposed and regarded as serious violations of human rights. Any coerced, involuntary psychiatric hospitalization is opposed as part of natural therapy. Such a violation of human rights is always unacceptable as part of therapy since it too often results in inhumane, damaging or cruel acts. In fact coerced psychiatric hospitalization is regarded as a crime against humanity if it masquerades as therapy. On the other hand, if a person refuses psychotherapy and exhibits dangerous, violent, law-breaking behaviors one must of course always use the law enforcement procedures that are legally available for the prevention such harm or potential harm. However, in sharp contrast to a coercive psychiatrist, a natural psychotherapist is always someone who first fosters respect for each person's uniqueness, human rights, creativity, resilience and inner capacities to heal. That of course is

impossible if a person who is violent and engages in dangerous acts is referred for psychotherapy by family or others, and absolutely refuses it. Thus the natural therapist only resorts to legal coercion and the use of existing police powers of the State if the person refuses therapy and engages in or threatens to engage in harmful and destructive acts.

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10. THE GOALS OF EACH NATURAL THERAPY SESSION Every therapy session aims to demonstrate the fact that human beings have the naturalcreativity and resilience to freely choose how they desire to live. In natural therapy they learn how they can become free to live in a way that makes sense to them. People learn that they are truly able to solve even very difficult emotional problems and dilemmas through open, creative, collaborative and constructive dialogue. Most people who suffer emotional anguish often have no idea what collaborative and creative dialogue is. Some have mostly made unilateral or impulsive decisions and have difficulty being committed to a totally honest, frank and natural ongoing relationship. *** They often don't realize (and need to learn) that in a good relationship, difference of opinion, even if sharp, is always the beginning of conversation, never the end. Easy and relaxed discussion of differences opinion, perceptions, values, goals, etc. is especially true of collaborative psychotherapeutic dialogue. And necessary for therapeutic progress. *** Each psychotherapy session aims to be a creative search for and education in new perspectives in life.

*** One learns to become aware of a reality most people doubt: one's absolute freedom as a human being. And once one recognizes and accepts one's freedom as well as the ever-changing realities of one's life, one learns in each therapy session, to deal calmly and positively with destructive and seemingly hopeless assumptions, thoughts, feelings, and situations. Greater self-confidence and greater self-reliance are the inevitable results. *** One learns how to become practical; how to figure out the ways to become committed to one's positive values and goals. Self-defeating life styles and habits one has learned are gradually unlearned. Self enhancing habits, life styles and values that have not been learned are gradually learned. Natural psychotherapy then becomes an opportunity for greater awareness and better integration of the complexities and multiplicities of one's true self. One learns how to be more aware of and how to be more in harmony with one's inner nature, values and aspirations, as well as with the realities of the natural world.
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CLICK HERE for CONTACT INFORMATION 11. THE ROLE DIALOGUE IN NATURAL PSYCHOTHERAPY Natural psychotherapy is done not by means of pre-conceived "treatment plans" or "protocols," but through a radically honest exploration of one's present reality, and acreative, thoroughly collaborative search for constructive solutions. The focus is always on choosing constructive self-transformation and to find, develop, and use her or his unique ways to solve problems in terms of one's interrelations with others and one's situation. Such a focus is what helps feelings of self-sufficiency, self-confidence, and self-reliance to develop and grow.

If the problems underlying one's symptoms are not resolved and continue to operate as destructive and hidden agendas, they block the universal and powerful desires all human beings have: the desires for freedom, independence, intimacy, social connectedness, sexual fulfillment and the closeness and meaningfulness of love. And if the destructive habits and relations that block these desires are not removed, the results are further psychological and physiological upheaval and emotional distress: anger, depression, anxiety, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, panic, somatic disorders, etc.

12. WHY RESOLUTION OF UNDERLYING PROBLEMS IS IMPORTANT Natural psychotherapy recognizes that self-transformation is not easy. Becoming aware of one's mistakes of the past and of the uncertainties of the future often results in the arousal of confusion and powerful (though, in fact, always temporary) feelings of fear, shame, regret, sadness, anger and rage. These feelings are not only inevitable for some, but are, in fact, indications that one is in the midst of a transitional state that often can be stormy and emotionally painful. This is so, because it is often so difficult to be honest with oneself, and to face unpleasant truths about oneself or one's situation. It is also difficult to become aware that one, or those with whom one interacts, may have unconscious, hidden, often very dangerous agendas of destruction and defeat. It is hard to change entrenched agendas, but gradually becomes very gratifying to make positive changes in one's basic philosophy of life, one's style of relating to others and the world, and one's habitualized reactions to life's vicissitudes and challenges. That is why choosing toconsistently avoid regret, blame and guilt always brings such relief and gives such a sense of feeling freer and stronger during the process of natural psychotherapy. Avoiding regret, blame and guilt is like a rebirth to a new life of inner relief and inner new kind of life free of old destructive habit patterns. Once such initial relief is attained to a degree, you always gain more relief as you learn to clarify your goals in life. You then gradually learns how to let go of those habit patterns that interfere with the process of natural psychotherapy and the process of life: withdrawal, pervasive fault

finding, self-deceptiveness and deception of others, impulsive behavior, habits of over-emotional blame, rage and temper tantrums, and addictions to hopelessness and despair.
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13. A SIMPLIFYING, HEALTHY, GLOBAL APPROACH In natural psychotherapy the approach always includes simplifying one's life style. This is an area where the natural therapist can be of the greatest help since Western Culture involves the kind of material and non-material acquisitiveness, social relations and "success" orientation that complicates everyone's' life, that distracts and diverts. Without a focus on a return to one's natural and true goals everyone can be most easily diverted from following one's true nature. This happens especially as a result of the deeply entrenched false belief many have, that what comes naturally requires curbs and controls. So how does one simplify one's life and flourish? Throughout natural psychotherapy one learns, over time, how to how to guide and nurture one's spiritual life, how to see events realistically and inperspective. One learns how to establish priorities for oneself in terms of one's utter uniqueness. As one establishes priorities, one gradually acquires the skill not to be distracted or diverted from one's unique and significant goals and values. That is difficult for most. Since it takes time and much effort, it also is often a point at which one may be tempted to quit (or "take a break from") the therapeutic process. It is also a point at which one may wish to plunge into the use of alcohol, or the much touted street and prescription drugs. The desire to escape from the rebirth of one's true inner spirit into destructive distractions needs to be explored and understood in terms of the conflicts and motives behind it. Only with greater self-understanding can one let go of such obfuscating and complicating barriers to the simplification of one's inner life and outer behavior.

Simplifying one's life,also involves the development of emotionally honest and gratifying ties with loved ones and friends. One needs others who are not destructive - either due to their ignorance, malice or stupidity. Everyone needs to learn how to avoid and not become upset by toxic people (especially if we are close to them) who find fault, berate, complain and infect with "bad vibes." As one continues in one's therapy one becomes more aware of the fact that all human beings need others who are generally positive, caring, supportive - who desire and know how to encourage one's quest for a more significant and happier life. Simplification of one's life also means doing all one can to avoid bad health, illness and spiritual emptiness. It therefore also always includes healthy, balanced organic foods, adequate daily physical exercise, and adequate sleep and rest. Relaxation and self-hypnosis techniques that can help one start these processes are used consistently for those who want to use them. And as most of us know, to maintain such healthful patterns involves skills that most people need to acquire, and that indeed are acquired as part of every successful, comprehensive natural therapy process. And further, simplifying one's life also means becoming aware of what is toxic in one's physical environment (e.g. pesticides, radiation, food additives, hormone and chemical additives, toxic cleaning materials, toxic air quality, etc., etc.) and then carefully planning how to avoid such dangers as much as possible.
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CLICK HERE for CONTACT INFORMATION 14. THE CORE CONFLICT: BASIC ASPECTS Throughout the process of natural psychotherapy, especially in analyzing and examining one's emotional interactions with the natural therapist, one also learns how to resolve one's Core Conflict. The very common CoreConflict generally is a conflict between desire for dependence and passivity on the one hand, and for independence, self expression, and actualization of one's selfand one's personal goals on the other. This conflict is intense and not yet resolved for most people who suffer psychological pain or turmoil.

The resistance to give up the (often life-long) search for someone who can be totally depended on, a situation in which one behaves as a dependent "taken-care-of-child," is probably universal for those who were never truly loved and well cared for as infants and children. If a parent or both parents were verbally or physically punitive or oppressive during one's infancy, childhood, adolescence, or young adulthood, one is not only unconsciously prone to self-destructive behavior and feelings of mistrust helplessness and hopelessness, but of something additional that is equally damaging. One may also feel driven toward an unconscious, compulsive pattern of seeking out, and having powerful emotional attachment to those who are as unloving and destructive as the parents were. Many seek to repeat what is familiar and what has in the past characterized one's core ways of relating, even though it may be self-destructive in the present. And often those who are loving and caring, authentic, genuine and of good will, are assiduously avoided and pervasively found fault with. Others see oppression or inhibition in situations where it doesn't actually exist: they may unconsciously project the pattern of inhibition or self-oppression they learned in their childhoods unto others in the present and feel, like a rebellious but not selfactualizing adolescent: "I want to do it on my own." By focusing on reality and examining these feelings, most people in natural therapy can finally get to understand the nature of their Core Conflict. By truly collaborating in straightforward dialogue with the natural therapist, all people always find out why the impulse to leave therapy seem so urgent at some points. They get to understand what is behind their "rush into impulsive pseudo-independence." But until they understand their fears and their desires to "act on their fears," they may urgently desire to abandon the therapy process. Yet if they stick it through, they do start to discover and practice self-actualization without distraction and diversion, and start to experience the deep satisfactions this brings. Until natural capacities for rebirth, self-actualization and individuation are gradually developed or restored, many individuals compulsively repeat the Core Interactions and accompanying emotions learned in the past.

They are repeatedly tempted to ignore their true feelings and spiritual values, to act unilaterally, impulsively and without mutual frank discussion and mutual selfexamination. They often lack patience, and find it too fear-arousing to reach decisions jointly through continuing dialogue, as all true collaboration requires.
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15. UNDERSTANDING DECEPTION: Closely related to the resolution of one's Core Conflict is the growth of understanding the roledeception played in one's life. Natural therapy can help each person understand the origins and the consequences of various patterns of deception: self-deception, deception of others, and deception by others. Such interpersonal patterns need to be examined since they have generally become entrenched in the interactions of most individuals whose lives are beset by psychological pain and disorder.

16. NATURAL PSYCHOTHERAPY AS A GENTLE, GRADUAL PROCESS The natural therapist, by being gentle, kind, patient, open and completely truthful can be instrumental in helping each person become aware of the constructive as well as of the automatic and by now, habitual self-destructive ways of living that she or he has learned over the years. Natural psychotherapy is thus a gradual, collaborative, often stumbling and difficult search for the worthwhile and happier life. The length of the therapeutic process depends on the strength of one's desire to be totally honest with oneself. This generally requires the willingness to overcome resistance to experience negative, frightening, or unusual thoughts and feelings, to face painful truths, and to start constructive change. Also important is the degree of sabotaging or supportive behavior of family and friends and the system of constructive or destructive beliefs prevalent in one's background and culture.
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17. IMPORTANT SELF-DISCOVERIES

Even though it is difficult, each person gradually learns how to be constructively active, rather than destructively passive: how to make and keep on making realistic choices calmly and with careful planning. Interestingly, even amidst unfair, unjust and oppressive cultural, societal, or family circumstances, persons engaged in natural psychotherapy discover their resilience, their previously hidden vast energies available for real changes and resulting in exhilarating spiritual and emotional rebirths. They gradually choose to become assertive, morally responsible, loving and productive human beings. Those in natural psychotherapy discover, slowly but surely,a sense of new-found energy, of creative mastery over the difficulties, disasters, cruelties, injustice and horrors most human beings encounter. Those in natural therapy learn how to stop focusing on, and how to let go of, their emotional (and too often, very severe) suffering of the past. They learn to use the complexity and richness of current reality to achieve constructive change and spiritual rebirth. And then, as they learn to distract themselves from their past suffering. They discover and rediscover, over and over again, that an authentic, independent, assertive,loving, caring, and productivelifeinthepresent - though not easy to maintain - is a worthwhile choice. Such a choice brings joy, love, creativity, spiritual fulfillment. Such a practical and achievable choice brings short term as well as long term, satisfaction. It makes life, with all its difficulties and suffering, bearable. It helps one develop a much better and more worthwhile way of life! CLICK HERE for CONTACT INFORMATION 18. PRACTICAL, SPIRITUAL AND HUMANISTIC AIMS AND REALIZATIONS: Once a person has discovered how to remove crippling regret, anger, fear, passivity, and imbalance from most areas of life, she or he is ready to pursue the humanistic, spiritual, practical aims of natural psychotherapy: the acceptance and active

development of one's utter uniqueness, freedom, and natural strengths as a human being. The strengths to make the world and oneself better, more loving, more creative, and more productive. One realizes that the work is much, and the time short. And one also realizes that the results of the work are truly worthwhile - the natural highs of natural, holistic well-being!