“Otherwise, you’ll live like a velvet flap in a box of blades,” as I read this, I froze in delight, like a child savoring a lollipop in his mouth (my translation). In Shadows in Paradise by Erich Maria Remarque, such diamonds are scattered on almost every page. I appreciate the art of wordplay, not because of the brilliance of its form, but because it is incomparably better at conveying meaning to the reader.
Oddly enough, it was my dreams that made me realize this. Most of them can be described as strange, stunning, embarrassing, astonishing, terrifying, or inspiring-in short, anything but boring, predictable, and banal. The philosopher and psychotherapist Eugene Gendlin seems to have encouraged me to the idea that only such an “unthinkable” form has a chance of bypassing the fences of the mind to sow its seeds of Novelty. A parallel can be drawn with the practice of unraveling koans in Zen Buddhism. The purpose of a koan is to give the student a special psychological impulse to achieve enlightenment or satori more quickly. Not surprisingly, dreams are characterized by contradiction, ambivalence, and paradox.
At practically every session with a client I receive confirmation of the practicality of this insight. For example, when after uttering a successful metaphor, the business founder’s eyes suddenly flash. His understanding of the problematic situation has changed forever. This is how a hunting dog’s behavior changes dramatically when, after a long, chaotic spin in the woods, his nose finally picks up a hot trail. No matter how long this hunt lasts and no matter what kind of prey it yields, the man already perceives his business and himself in a completely different way.
Sincerely yours,
-Alexander
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As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.
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