Blog 2.0

OUR ARCHETYPAL LIFE FUNCTION

DR. MAX HAMMER AND DR BARRY HAMMER

We are using the term archetype to refer to the inherent pattern, blueprint, or predisposition of the individual soul, the collective community soul, the universal life substance in which the individual and community life forms abide, and the holistic integral Divine Intelligence, or spiritual essence and quintessence, that includes and unifies the individual, collective community, and universal aspects of the indivisible Divine Intelligence. The archetype abides in a dimension of timeless, changeless, permanent being, and gradually unfolds its energy substance or spirit into our individual becoming existence form localized, demarcated, and delimited, in the world of time and space. Our distinctive, relatively unique, particular individual talents, abilities, interests, personal qualities, structural development, and other natural inclinations, proclivities, or predispositions, are mostly derived from our archetypal divine blueprint unfolding into us its inherent energy patterns, which, to some extent (along with other complementary yet also compatible factors such as, environmental influences, happenstance, Darwinian natural selection or experimental trial and error, and personal choice) shape the ongoing development of our individual heart, mind, and body, as well as shaping the cumulative development of our soul or spiritual individuality, and its heart-mind-body containers and instruments, over many successive lifetimes. The genetic predispositions that are inherited from our parents and more distant ancestors correspond to and are balanced by metaphysical or subtler, relatively intangible, influences coming from the archetype, or the timeless permanent being level of our individual spiritual self, or soul.

Similarly, the historical, social, cultural, experiential ethos, and metaphysical development of the collective human species, as well as of particular cohesive ethnic communities, is, to some extent, shaped by a collective spiritual blueprint, prototype, archetype, or pattern existing in the dimension of timeless permanent being. This metaphysical, timeless archetypal pattern unfolding in time and influencing the structural development of individual souls and collective society is somewhat different than the Jungian usage of the term archetype to refer to collective unconscious symbolic, metaphorical, or mythological motifs, but we deem it likely that the development of collective unconscious myth and metaphor is one of many results of the causal influence of the timeless permanent being level of the collective psyche of humanity. Perhaps our view that the universal divine intelligence is gradually growing or advancing in its cumulative level of self-discovery through the gradual cumulative development of the individual and collective psyche of humanity may be compatible and complementary with W.G.F. Hegel’s notion that the Absolute Spirit is gradually growing in self-realization through the historical accomplishments and progressively developing ethos of humanity.

Just as an individual tree, flower, or another kind of plant, abiding and growing above ground, is supported, nourished, and directed in its ongoing structural development, or fruition, by the roots of the plant, hidden below ground, similarly, the cumulative structural development of our individual and collective societal heart-mind-body, gradually, progressively unfolding in time, is significantly influenced by subtle energies or impartations from a seed-like metaphysical “root” or spiritual core aspect of our life force, abiding in the dimension of timeless permanent being.

This seed-like archetypal blueprint, or prototypal pattern, is a principle of entelechy or directing purposive intelligence that exerts a significant influence on the biological evolution, and corresponding cumulative maturational development of consciousness and subliminal levels of intelligence or psyche, of pre-human, non-human, human, and possibly more advanced post-human species that may arise in the future. We intuitively maintain that the archetypal pattern of a maturely developed and highly evolved individual and collective Divine Self, or Soul, timelessly pre-exists and shapes the cumulative structural development and growing powers of functioning of the individual human and collective humanity or society, in time, by gradually shining its energy patterns, spirit, or life substance into the individual and collective life forms. The individual and collective archetypal self, or life form, inherently, indivisibly united with the universal life substance of the Transpersonal Self, or God, timelessly contains within itself the entelechy, imago, model, or prototype of purposive intention, that guides the cumulative structural development, growing conscious and subliminal intelligence, and expanding powers of functioning, of the individual and collective psyches of humanity.

Our intuition suggests that there may be no final ending to the cumulative development of individual and collective humanity’s natural potentials, capabilities, and proclivities, producing possibly endless structural transformations in humanity’s heart-mind-body instruments for experiencing, expressing, and epitomizing the limitless range of spiritual being-intelligence, because those potentials are unfolding from a limitless, inexhaustible source, or reservoir, which is the spiritual substance of life, or the Divine Self. Although the spiritual reality of life or intelligence is unfolding its potentials in this delimited world of finite time and space, it is rooted in, and unfolding from, a limitless abode of timeless permanent being.

When individual human beings, social networks, and collective humanity or society become overly identified with exclusive, predetermined self-definitions, self-images, beliefs, and behavioral habits, then that exclusive, conceptually-defined, sense of identity restricts, or to some extent blocks, the ability of the archetype to continue the process of unfolding its potentials into us, or unfolding itself as us, because we are overly attached to what we presume to already know, accomplish, do, and be, and we fear venturing into new possibilities that may not necessarily conform to what the ego or self-generated sense of separate narcissistic identity presumes that it can readily understand, predict, and control. The narcissistic ego typically equates rigidity with security through familiarity, predictability, and control, and misinterprets flexibility, involving openness to new possibilities, as a dangerous encounter with mystery, uncertainty, unpredictability, lack of defined self-knowledge or exclusive identity, lack of control, lack of continuity and compatibility with a preselected sense of identity and volitional purpose.

However, the reverse is actually true, that the ego’s narcissistic self-preoccupation and resistive self-will produce a dangerous opposite or antithetical, degenerative, distortion of the naturally regenerative momentum of our life energy force, by restricting or even entirely blocking the archetype from shining its spirit or transformative energy impartations into our overly cluttered, distracted, minds, filled with our own mind chatter or self-generated thought, and our overly cluttered, hearts, filled with narcissistic emotion instead of the pure ecstatic feeling coming from the Divine Self or Soul; and, likewise, the narcissistic ego influences the body senses to be overly inundated by incessant, intense, coarse sensations, impeding our ability to tune into, or non-dualistically commune with, pure spiritual energies arising within and around us.

Lovingly or non-dualistically, empathically, responsively, communing with other individuals and phenomena other than the narcissistic ego, as well as being open to direct, undistorted, unmediated contact with the experiential truth of ourselves, and letting our perception and functioning be guided by the “still small voice” of intuition and core integrity, connects us to the connective relational energy of the spiritual substance of life as love, beyond the ego’s self-defined, self-limited, sense of exclusive, separate identity and resistive self-will. When our individual mind abides in unconditioned or unmodified undifferentiated mind stillness, that is an abode of natural relaxed peace, contentment, openness, and receptivity that enables the archetypal source of greater intelligence and greater powers of functioning to shine or impart its loving energy presence into us without obstruction, as its reflecting mirrors, naturally unified with it in that pure mind stillness. When we are unified with the archetypal root level of our own individual being and of all being, in that way, then it naturally imparts into us ever deeper, higher, grander, more fulfilling, cumulative levels of its warmth of goodness, sweetness, purity, caring, and security, as well as its light of illumined truth understanding, and ecstatic or joyful vitality of life energy substance.

So, our individual spirit becoming form resembles a mirror-like container, receptacle, mold, or pattern into which our archetypal form of Divine Intelligence can unfold itself, i.e., unfold its living energy presence, at ever deeper levels, and thereby know itself. That archetypal radiant energy  presence, or divine love flame-light of conscious and subliminal intelligence-vitality of life energy, is what gives our individuality divine or spiritual love-warmth, light, and vitality, indivisibly united together, and endowing us with a limitless range of its intrinsic goodness and grandeur. Just as the individual spirit becoming form is a somewhat grosser or denser container and reflecting mirror-like extension of the archetypal form of Divine Intelligence, the individual soul is an extension of the individual spirit-form, and the individual physical body is an extension of the individual soul form.

Each individual spiritual archetype is like a distinctive idea or form of the universal Divine Intelligence or the connective spiritual life energy substance in which we all abide, and with which we are inherently, indivisibly united. The natural diversity between individual souls, archetypes, or life forms provides the universal Divine Intelligence or the unifying life substance with a limitlessly diverse range of perspectives that serve to accentuate, epitomize, experience, and express, various complementary aspects or viewpoints of itself.

Like many seeds rooted in and growing from the same earth-soil, every individual soul-archetype is grounded in the universal spiritual substance of life and in the collective spiritual form of humanity. The individual and collective soul-archetypes exist or permanently abide within the unifying Divine Intelligence, as ideas within its mind, many splendored aspects within its heart or feeling center, and cells and organs within its body. Just as various crystals or gems, each with different facets, cuts, or patterns, prism and rearrange pure clear light in somewhat different ways, likewise, the pure undifferentiated glory of life energy substance as love gains a limitless range of self-discovery and self-development as each of us naturally reflect, epitomize, experience, and express our individual form of that connective spiritual reality in somewhat different ways, consistent with our archetypal soul blueprint or inherent predispositions.

The one indivisible whole divine intelligence or the universal spiritual energy substance is able to unfold, and, thereby know and cumulatively develop, various aspects, perspectives, potentials, and functions or contributions, of itself through each of its various, somewhat differentiated, particular life forms or individual human beings. When we reflect the pure energy pulse of divine love-goodness without excessive distortion, we thereby serve as individual, relational, and community Divine Ideas or Divine Images of God’s, or Life’s, Divine Intelligence. When we become overly invested in narcissistic disconnection from others, and/or divorced from the experiential truth of ourselves, that divisive way of functioning distorts the flow of our energy, including impartations coming from the archetype or source level of our being, producing a toxic degenerative energy momentum, instead of the naturally regenerative momentum of pure love-life energy. That divisive, narcissistic way of perceiving and functioning also cuts us off from the Divine Oneness of God or the universal Divine Intelligence. All individual divine ideas or souls naturally abide within an indivisible collective divine idea, image, or form of God’s radiant Unity spiritual life energy substance, and are meant to serve as Its united, undistorted, reflection, container, house, temple, including each of our individual variations linked together rather than divisively disconnected from one another.

Male and female soul-mates or twin flames, as well as relative masculine and feminine aspects of each and every individual man or woman, are naturally interrelated, interdependent, indivisible complementary functions or contributions within the same unifying divine idea or spirit/soul archetype. The male principle primarily, but not exclusively, represents the subjective or inner aspect of the Divine Reality, and the female principle primarily, but not exclusively, represents the objective or outer aspect of the Divine Reality Intelligence. Various relative polarities such as, male and female, timeless permanent being and changing becoming, substance and form, unity and diversity, and so on, are relative degrees of one another and of the greater all-inclusive reality of love-wholeness in which they both abide, rather than being independent, self-sufficient, self-defining realities in their own right.

HEALING OUR EMOTIONAL PAIN AND RELATIONSHIP PAIN

DR. MAX HAMMER AND DR. BARRY HAMMER

EDITORIAL NOTE:

This article was written by Dr. Barry Hammer in the Autumn of 2014, summarizing some of the essential psychotherapeutic and interpersonal relationship insights of Barry’s late father, Dr. Max Hammer (1930-2011), an eminent psychotherapist, professor of clinical psychology at the University of Maine, and supervisor of graduate interns in clinical psychotherapy at the University of Maine. The present article also draws upon related insights by Dr. Barry Hammer, whose Ph.D. is in Religious Studies, with significant graduate studies in psychological, spiritual, and pastoral counseling. For more extensive discussions of our insights regarding effective psychotherapy, psychological self-help (healthy psychological development), expanded spiritual awareness, inner peace, happiness, creativity, and development of psychologically healthy, fulfilling, interpersonal relationships, with true love, empathic emotional/experiential intimacy, and good communication, please see our two published books. The primary author of our books is Dr. Max Hammer, with secondary authors Dr. Barry Hammer and Dr. Alan C. Butler. Dr. Butler is a psychotherapist, Emeritus Cooperating Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology, Emeritus Training Director (Supervisor) of Interns at the University of Maine Counseling Center, and colleague/friend of Dr. Max Hammer). The titles of our books are as follows: 1) Psychological Healing Through Creative Self-Understanding and Self-Transformation. (ISBN   978-1-62857-075-5). 2) Deepening Your Personal Relationships: Developing Emotional Intimacy and Good Communication. (ISBN: 978-1-6198-590-4). The content of our article follows immediately below.

An important key to emotional self-healing is to fully embrace our emotional pain and relationship pain with an open, nonjudgmental, nonpartisan, compassionate, warmly loving heart. That warmhearted, compassionate, loving embrace of our emotional pain releases, untwists, or dissolves it back into its underlying substratum of undivided, pure, clear, love-life energy, which is inherently, naturally wholeness, self-consistent integrated harmony, wellbeing, relaxed, serene, security, without any intrinsic negativity, inner conflict, or painful qualities.

Resisting our judgments and inner conflicts only perpetuates and intensifies them; “what we resist persists.” It is important to compassionately, calmly, courageously, accept our natural judgments, reactions, preferences, and emotional pain without being controlled by, acting upon, or exclusively identified with non-constructive or inappropriate urges. We can let be and embrace our judgments and conflicted feelings but also see beyond them to a deeper level of our being that is unconditionally relaxed, serene, intrinsically self-accepting, and naturally, compassionately nonjudgmental.

We have an innate urge to restore our natural wholeness of being by reunifying with formerly estranged, disturbed, self-conflicted, aspects of ourselves. When we stop struggling against, distancing, identifying with, taking a judgmental partisan stance for or against, or being overly dominated by emotional negativity or conflicted, disturbing aspects of our energy, then our energy is thereby liberated from self-division and self-conflict, which makes our energy, feelings, and behavior less tense, less negative, and produces greater inner relaxed peace, fulfillment, and wholeness of being. That inner wholeness is also our natural psychotherapeutic healing, health, happiness, wholesomeness, and holiness, not an idealized perfectionistic holiness, but attunement to what is naturally easeful, harmonious, regenerative, sacred, precious, beautiful, truly good, and life-affirming in ourselves and others. Dr. Max Hammer’s psychotherapeutic dictum, “Wholeness heals!” reflects this view that compassionately embracing and reunifying with uncomfortable, turbulent feelings, energies, and experiential states in ourselves, is the key to restoring our natural wholeness and wellbeing, as well as similarly healing or constructively resolving unnecessary discord and experiential distancing or estrangement in our interpersonal relationships by empathically embracing or nonjudgmentally, compassionately, intimately or non-dualistically contacting the experiential wholeness of other individuals, including their experiential negativity.

Distancing ourselves from uncomfortable feelings and experiences produces a disturbing sense of inner self-division between knower and known, as well as between what we are actually feeling and more “positive”, desired feelings, sensations, concepts, and experiential states that we pursue and superimpose upon the uncomfortable feelings as a means of distracting ourselves and thereby escaping from them. Reunifying our energy and thereby healing emotional pain involves nonjudgmentally fully accepting and compassionately embracing whatever we are actually experiencing, and letting go of the pursuit of idealized notions of what we “should be” experiencing, feeling, achieving, “proving” or validating about ourselves, because pursuing what we hold to be “better” rejects and distances our actual experiential reality, producing greater self-division and self-conflict, which exacerbates emotional pain, rather than healing it.

The natural inner wholeness that heals emotional pain involves not distancing ourselves from our actual feelings and experiential states by superimposing predetermined, presumptive interpretations upon them, but rather, being fully unified with the energy of the feelings, without speaking for the feelings, so that the feelings can speak for themselves and resolve or dissolve themselves by revealing their underlying message. That is how embracing our emotional pain and inner conflict releases it back to its original substratum as pure undivided energy, which is an intrinsic wholeness and wellbeing without any inherently negative, painful, non-constructive, psychologically unhealthy, self-conflicting tendencies.

Being unified with our feelings and experiential states does not involve identifying with them, or acting on inappropriate urges. Whatever we identify with dominates us, and sticks to us like glue, vehemently pressuring us to inappropriately, impulsively express intensely energized toxic feelings and seek to gratify irresponsible, non-constructive urges with which we are identified, whereas we are free to constructively release and gain liberating healing insight into feelings with which we are not identified. Reacting for or against particular feelings is a form of identification and self-divisive partisan exclusivity, whereas simply observing our feelings without judgment and predetermined interpretations produces liberating insight and compassionate self-reunification.

To restore our natural undivided wholeness of being, thereby healing emotional pain, inner conflict, and related psychopathology, it is helpful to be open to the whole range of our spontaneously arising inner and outer experience, with an accepting, compassionately embracing, non-controlling, non-censoring, non-selective, non-partisan, non-judgmental, non-interfering attitude. Taking a partisan, selective, judgmental attitude toward our feelings and experiences produces self-division and self-conflict between approved and disapproved, desired and rejected feelings and experiences. That self-division and self-conflict generates and exacerbates emotional pain and psychopathology, as well as contributing to related physical and social disorders.

Beyond all divisive self-interpretations abides the deeper core level of our being, which is inherently, unconditionally, relaxed, serene, security, wholeness, wellbeing, self-accepting, as “the peace  that passes understanding.” (Philippians 4:7). When we let go of all self-divisive, partisan, selective, predetermined, presumptive forms of self-interpretation and judgmental self-evaluation, then psychotherapeutic healing and liberating transformational insights can come from the “still small voice” of intuition (I Kings 19:12), arising from the unifying core integrity wholeness level of our being. Emotional pain and inner conflict is healed by being aligned with an energy pulse of self-consistent wholeness and harmony when we unify with and thereby compassionately embrace our emotional pain, thereby including it in our natural integral wholeness of being, functioning as a connective, cohesive, harmonious, regenerative, energy vibration.

We must let ourselves fully experience our emotional pain, hurt, and fear without exclusively identifying with it or reacting for or against it, and without distancing ourselves from the emotional pain by interpreting it, speaking for the pain from the outside, or attempting to control, manage, or evade its fullest energized impact. Instead, compassionately embracing or nonjudgmentally reunifying with the emotional pain, and letting it impact us fully, in its fullest energized intensity, restores the natural undivided wholeness of our individual being or energy-field, and that experiential wholeness produces experiential healing of the emotional pain that we compassionately embrace or nonjudgmentally reunify with, without holding any distancing interpretive preconceptions about it. Siding for or against, identifying with, pursuing, rejecting, justifying, condemning, distancing, and misinterpreting our feelings and experiences produces self-division within our energy field between approved and disapproved, conditionally accepted and rejected, or “self” and “not-self”, aspects of our energy, and that self-division perpetuates and exacerbates emotional pain and inner conflict. However, holding a non-distancing, non-analytical or non-defining, non-controlling, noninterfering, nonselective, nonpartisan, nonjudgmental, unconditionally accepting, compassionately embracing or welcoming attitude enables our emotional pain to naturally heal itself by reunifying our naturally holistic awareness and energy field, and enables us to also naturally be more compassionate to other people by empathically embracing or intimately contacting their experiential wholeness without letting them abuse us or inappropriately take advantage of us. Relating to ourselves in a genuine, sincere, compassionate, empathically responsive manner enables us to also relate to other people in that psychologically healthy, loving way. Conversely, being at peace with others can help us also be at peace with ourselves, by undoing a false sense of division and conflict within and between the individual and relational aspects of our energy field.

Compassion, empathy, and unselfishly generous caring for other individuals is natural because (to explain in metaphorical terminology) the individual self is like a circle or cone that converges with other selves or circles/cones at the center or heart core level of its being, while being clearly differentiated from others at the circumference or surface level of conscious awareness, as well as naturally experiencing various partial degrees of relative intersecting overlap and relative differentiation, or a dynamic relative balance between centripetal and centrifugal energies, along the radius or intermediate level of our conscious awareness. The process of healing emotional pain and restoring our natural wholeness involves a relative degree of caring connection to others as well as a relative degree of compassionate connection to the experiential truth of ourselves, because the energy of our real individuality naturally extends into the energy field of others, to a relative degree, in contrast to the ego as a false, distancing sense of totally separate identity and continuous, dualistic, narcissistic self-awareness, involving incessant egocentric mind chatter or inner monologues.

Reconnecting to others and to the experiential truth of ourselves in a genuinely caring, compassionate way restores our natural wholeness by reunifying the inner and outer, knower and known, or subjective and objective aspects of our individual awareness and energy field. Restoring our natural wholeness in that way produces healing of emotional pain and inner conflict, rooted in unnatural self-division within and between the individual and relational aspects of our being. That healing process of loving self-unification and nonjudgmental compassionate self-acceptance is like a process of inner alchemy that transmutes our emotional pain, inner conflict, and negativity so that it is harmoniously integrated with our natural wholeness of being, and adds to rather than detracts from the luster of our inherent spiritual grandeur of being, as part of the undivided whole spectrum or “many splendors” of our pure energy field.

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Dr. Barry Hammer offers transformational life coaching and interpersonal relationship advising to help people better understand and heal their emotional pain and inner conflict, as well as explore factors that can facilitate or impede the development of psychologically healthy, fulfilling, deeply caring interpersonal relationships, with good communication and empathic experiential intimacy. If interested, please contact him at his email address, mhbj58@gmail.com    

A more detailed discussion of principles of healthy individual psychological development and psychologically healthy interpersonal relationships is presented in the following books:  1) Psychological Healing Through Creative Self-Understanding and Self-Transformation. (ISBN: 978-1-62857-075-5) and  2) Deepening Your Personal Relationships: Developing Emotional Intimacy and Good Communication. (ISBN: 978-1-61897-590-4). The primary author of these books is Dr. Max Hammer, with contributions from secondary authors Dr. Barry J. Hammer and Dr. Alan C. Butler. These books can be purchased from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or our author/publisher website, http://sbprabooks.com/MaxHammer. The latter website describes the books and authors, also posts other articles/blogs by Dr. Barry Hammer (which incorporate many psychotherapeutically, spiritually, and interpersonally valuable insights from his late father, Dr. Max Hammer).

See also Dr. Max Hammer’s and Dr. Barry Hammer’s YouTube videos, Psychological Healing Through Creative Self-Understanding and Self-Transformation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVrtJWHe1Dc&feature=youtu.be

Max Hammer and Barry Hammer, Deepening Your Personal Relationships https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFu2YZrpzj4&feature=youtu.be

BOOKS AND YOUTUBE VIDEOS BY OTHER PEOPLE THAT DISCUSS THE PROCESS OF HEALING EMOTIONAL PAIN AND INNER CONFLICT:

Deepak Chopra, Marianne Williamson, Debbie Ford, The Shadow Effect: Illuminating the Hidden Power of Your True Self  (ISBN: 978-0-06-196264-6, Harper Collins, 2011)

Debbie Ford, The Dark Side of the Light Chasers (ISBN’s, 1-57322-735-8; 1-57322-096-5, Riverhead Books, 1998 and 2010)

Idem, The Secret of the Shadow: The Power of Owning Your Whole Story  ( ISBN 0-06-251783-X, Harper Collins, 2002)

Marilyn Gordon and Ormond McGill, Healing is Remembering Who You Are: A Guide for Healing Your Mind, Your Emotions, and Your Life (No ISBN listed, Kindle Edition available through Amazon, 2013, Wise Word Publishing).

Guy Winch, Ph.D., Emotional First Aid: Healing Rejection, Guilt, Failure, and Other Everyday Hurts (ISBN: 978-1-921966-35-4, Exisle Publishing, 2013 and 2014)

Deepak Chopra, Physical Healing, Emotional Wellbeing (YouTube video), http://youtu.be/_gJN7I0a9XU

Idem, Healing Quest: Deepak Chopra on Releasing Toxic Emotions (YouTube video), http://youtu.be/_gJN7I0a9XU

Burt Harding, The Secret of Healing Emotional Pain (YouTube video), http://youtu.be/fvV5ZCzQCOI

Tobias Lars, Healing PAIN, Spiritual Healing of Pain, Healing Emotional Pain (YouTube video), http://youtu.be/t-VPgL-MfXU

June 19, 2015

I, Dr. Barry Hammer, have just now compiled a YouTube Playlist of undated audio tapes (from a tape recorder), recorded many years ago by my beloved late father, Dr. Max Hammer (June 16, 1930-June 14, 2011) The compassionate insights discussed in these audio tapes are keys to effective psychotherapy or counseling work; healthy psychological development (psychological self-help); resolving or healing stress, emotional pain, and inner conflict; nonsectarian spiritual insight; achieving greater levels of happiness, wellbeing, inner peace, creativity, and genuine experiential self-understanding; as well as developing psychologically healthy and fulfilling interpersonal relationships, with true love, empathic experiential intimacy, and good communication.   Please spread the word about these audio tapes for anyone who you believe may be interested or derive benefit from them.

This is the generic link for the entire playlist, consisting of 13 YouTube audios/videos:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCgQPWWfZRDNxbdhDBlZ47Tv-GBXCuU-p

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCgQPWWfZRDNxbdhDBlZ47Tv-GBXCuU-p

If listeners have difficulty with the occasionally poor sound quality of the YouTube tapes, they can use the following generic URL link to access the same audio tapes on www.soundcloud.com, which apparently have a somewhat better sound quality:

https://soundcloud.com/books-by-max-hammer

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Here, below, are URL links for the individual YouTube audio tapes:

https://youtu.be/18QsKaQzeok

Drugs, Awareness & You, Part 1, Dr Max Hammer

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https://youtu.be/jZuNV1GuMgE

https://youtu.be/KePBHaNA8mw

The Essential Basis of True Love and the Psychologically Healthy Relationship, part 1

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https://youtu.be/vG59YiqNdjw

https://youtu.be/Js8MYqDL-Y0

https://youtu.be/NGHQwQ2wzVo

https://youtu.be/GacLQxrDg7U

https://youtu.be/EGwYRqj4nHg

https://youtu.be/KmHEUSHI_c8

https://youtu.be/eLk_tLHl60U

https://youtu.be/tMQUIYH6-Vc

https://youtu.be/1-H-7KX1ZJE

https://youtu.be/tm1ZasSVYrw

The Basis of Effective Psychotherapy and Psychological Self Healing, Part 8

PROFESSIONAL BIO FOR DR. MAX HAMMER:

Dr. Max Hammer (June 16, 1930-June 14, 2011) was a distinguished Psychology Professor and supervisor of graduate students and interns in the clinical psychology, psychotherapy, and counseling practice training program of the Psychology Department at the University of Maine, for many years, as well as a respected psychotherapist, clinical psychology consultant, and diagnostician. Dr. Max Hammer was one of the original core clinicians who founded and developed the Clinical Psychology program at the University of Maine, beginning in the 1960’s. In his work with graduate and undergraduate students in that program, Dr. Max Hammer provided a refreshing Humanistic and Transpersonal perspective, with an emphasis on flexible, warmly caring, empathic responsiveness to the needs of the individual psychotherapy client.

Dr. Max Hammer (with secondary contributing authors Dr. Barry J. Hammer and Dr. Alan C. Butler) is the primary author of the following books:

1) “DEEPENING YOUR PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS: DEVELOPING EMOTIONAL INTIMACY AND GOOD COMMUNICATION”   (ISBN: 978-1-61897-590-4)

2) “PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALING THROUGH CREATIVE SELF-UNDERSTANDING AND SELF-TRANSFORMATION.” (ISBN: 978-1-62857-075-5)

THESE BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE  (IN SOFT COVER PRINT AND VARIOUS ELECTRONIC VERSIONS ) THROUGH AMAZON, BARNES AND NOBLE, AND THE AUTHOR/PUBLISHER WEBSITE, http://sbprabooks.com/MaxHammer ;

Older Books Edited and Partially Authored by Dr. Max Hammer:

1. The Theory and Practice of Psychotherapy with Specific Disorders.  Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas Publishers, 1972. ISBN:  0-398-02539-8

1. The Practice of Psychotherapy with Children Homewood, Illinois: The Dorsey Press, 1967.

   No ISBN listed. Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 67-21007

    

Various related articles, some co-authored by Dr. Max Hammer, and his eldest son, Dr. Barry Hammer, are posted online and can be accessed through the following URL’s:

http://sbprabooks.com/maxhammer/?page_id=143

https://booksbymaxhammer.wordpress.com/

https://independent.academia.edu/BarryHammer

Why Good Communication is the Foundation of Enduring True Friendship

Dr. Barry Hammer

Agreement or disagreement is much less important than good communication as a way of enabling people to deeply understand each other, and, thereby, gradually develop the ability to feel inwardly close to each other, as caring good friends. Good communication, as the basis of true friendship, means that one does not keep one’s inner experience to oneself alone, but, instead, actively reaches out to share one’s experience, feelings, thoughts, and needs with another person, as openly, honestly, directly, fully, constructively, and non-judgmentally, as possible. Good communication, as the basis of true and enduring friendship, also involves being open to considering another person’s viewpoint and needs, and constructively exploring differences that may arise between oneself and the other person, without trying to win an argument, but, rather, only exploring together into the truth of those issues, without blaming, abusing, or trying to intimidate and control each other, and without insisting that one is always totally “right” and the other person is always totally “wrong”. Without that kind of good communication, actively reaching out to share one’s heart and mind with another person, one’s inner being remains hidden, disconnected, self-enclosed, so real understanding and close, caring, feelings cannot grow, as a deepening friendship.

So many friendships and romantic relationships fail because people permit themselves to “grow apart”, or gradually drift apart, without ever taking responsibility to deeply reveal themselves to the other person, and deeply tune into the other person, empathically, and intuitively, in order to directly experience what the other person means by the particular words that they say, or write, “reading between the lines”, so to speak, or tuning into an even deeper level of another person’s being, beyond all definable words and images. That deepest level of empathic/intuitive communion is the Source from which all true love and friendship arises, and that is what enables true love and friendship to keep growing deeper, closer, and grander, instead of gradually drifting apart because of lack of good communication, producing lack of mutual understanding, and lack of inner closeness. What makes people true friends of each other, rather than strangers, most essentially, is not outer physical contact, shared activities, and superficial social interaction, by themselves alone, but much more importantly, arises from development of substantial inner connection, by giving deeply, generously, unselfishly, of their energies to each other, and openly, honestly, directly, revealing their actual experience and true essential core being to one another.

Many relationships fail when individuals seek to be heard and nurtured, but have not developed a sufficient ability to be unselfishly, empathically, tuned into, aware of, and caringly responsive to, the other person’s need to also be heard and nurtured, in terms of their particular needs, feelings, and experiences, in a given moment. It takes a rather high level of unselfish caring, empathic sensitivity, and emotional maturity to be able to put aside one’s own needs and train of thought (or inner mental monologue) for a while, in order to empathically tune into what another person is feeling and needing, in a given moment, and respond in a way that enables the other person to feel truly heard and deeply nourished/nurtured. Like a couples dance, both partners (or individuals in some other kind of relationship) need to learn how to flow together in empathic harmonious communion with one another (“in step” with each other’s dance movements, metaphorically speaking), and, relatedly, also flow in harmonious attunement with the “dance music” of love, or caring friendship, that seeks to lead both of them into greater attunement with each other, as a related “we”, rather than a separate “you versus me.”

My own experience has shown me that if one is overly invested in preserving the ego’s sense of separate self-awareness, willful selfish demands, and inner monologue fantasy (being overly absorbed in one’s own train of thought), then it can become difficult to self-forgetfully tune into what another person is experiencing, feeling, and needing, regardless of whether or not the other person verbally communicates that, or which can also be empathically intuited, as a kind of nonverbal communication. I find that when I hold certain presumptions or preconceptions about another individual, and about my relationship with/to them, then those presumptions can function like a kind of overlay, opaque filter, or smokescreen, that I, consciously or subconsciously, project upon them, preventing me from directly contacting their actual experiential states, because I am, instead, projecting my own preconceptions upon them.

I find that even negative feelings, such as, frustration, or even anger, can be expressed in a constructive, nonjudgmental, non-blaming, open, sincerely caring, non-evasive, manner, which usually leads to greater understanding of each other, and of whatever issue has been blocking us from being in harmonious caring attunement with each other (preventing us from being “on the same page”, so to speak), and once those issues are constructively explored into and deeply understood, then they can be truly resolved and transcended (rather than merely being covered over, buried, or suppressed), enabling emotional closeness and caring feelings in the relationship to grow. I find that being honest with myself, in terms of being willing to openly admit to myself when I am permitting previously unrecognized, non-constructive, insincere, ego “games” to undermine the relationship, such as, evasiveness (talking or chattering without really saying anything), letting myself become emotionally shut down (engaging in emotional abandonment, which can function as a way of subtly trying to punish the other person, by withholding caring, affection, or attentive listening), giving in to wounded pride, as a resentful attitude, or adopting an overly selfishly demanding attitude. I find that when I am willing to acknowledge and let go of such egocentric habitual patterns, then those obstructing factors that tend to block caring feelings and mutual understanding tend to fall away, naturally, effortlessly.

For a relationship to endure and grow, it is important for both individuals to be good friends in each other, willing to confide in each other, be there for each other emotionally as well as physically in times of need, and be willing to share difficult times, and patiently work through persistent problems in the relationship, rather than being quick to abandon the other person, and the relationship with them, when discomfort arises. That is what it means to be an unselfishly devoted “friend for all seasons” rather than a selfishly fickle “fair-weather friend.” When I do not understand how to constructively understand and resolve, disagreements and other problems, in a relationship, then I find it helpful to invite the spirit of unselfish pure love to interpret the situation, which can enable me to see beyond, and not be myopically, exclusively, locked into, the ego’s interpretations of those situations, which are often based on incorrect presumptions and non-constructive, unrealistic, selfish wants.

I find that when I let go of the ego’s overly controlling, willful, prideful, selfish, narcissistically self- absorbed tendencies (as in the ancient Greek Myth story of Narcissus), that I find that the flow of love, or sincerely caring friendship, is no longer blocked, and then harmony and mutual empathic understanding arises automatically, effortlessly, spontaneously. When those ego “coverings”, “filters”, “overlays”, or “smokescreens”, are removed, then there is no longer any blockage to good communication and deep empathic communion with each other. That reminds me of one of my favorite songs, “On a clear day, you can see forever….” Along these lines, I find the philosopher Martin Buber’s distinction between I-Thou relationships (genuinely caring) and I-It relationships (egocentric, selfishly exploitative) relationships helpful, as described in some of his writings, such as, “I and Thou”, and “The Way of Response.”

Anyone who wishes to read more of our inspirational/transformational insights should see our two published books, 1) Psychological Healing Through Creative Self-Understanding and Self-Transformation. (ISBN: 978-1-62857-075-5) and 2) Deepening Your Personal Relationships: Developing Emotional Intimacy and Good Communication. (ISBN: 978-1-61897-590-4). The primary author is Dr. Max Hammer, with contributions from secondary authors Dr. Barry J. Hammer and Dr. Alan C. Butler. These books can be purchased from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or our author/publisher website, http://sbprabooks.com/MaxHammer. The latter website also posts our other blogs, and describes our books and us as authors.

Why Good Communication is the Foundation of Enduring True Friendship

Dr. Barry Hammer

Agreement or disagreement is much less important than good communication as a way of enabling people to deeply understand each other, and, thereby, gradually develop the ability to feel inwardly close to each other, as caring good friends. Good communication, as the basis of true friendship, means that one does not keep one’s inner experience to oneself alone, but, instead, actively reaches out to share one’s experience, feelings, thoughts, and needs with another person, as openly, honestly, directly, fully, constructively, and non-judgmentally, as possible. Good communication, as the basis of true and enduring friendship, also involves being open to considering another person’s viewpoint and needs, and constructively exploring differences that may arise between oneself and the other person, without trying to win an argument, but, rather, only exploring together into the truth of those issues, without blaming, abusing, or trying to intimidate and control each other, and without insisting that one is always totally “right” and the other person is always totally “wrong”. Without that kind of good communication, actively reaching out to share one’s heart and mind with another person, one’s inner being remains hidden, disconnected, self-enclosed, so real understanding and close, caring, feelings cannot grow, as a deepening friendship.

So many friendships and romantic relationships fail because people permit themselves to “grow apart”, or gradually drift apart, without ever taking responsibility to deeply reveal themselves to the other person, and deeply tune into the other person, empathically, and intuitively, in order to directly experience what the other person means by the particular words that they say, or write, “reading between the lines”, so to speak, or tuning into an even deeper level of another person’s being, beyond all definable words and images. That deepest level of empathic/intuitive communion is the Source from which all true love and friendship arises, and that is what enables true love and friendship to keep growing deeper, closer, and grander, instead of gradually drifting apart because of lack of good communication, producing lack of mutual understanding, and lack of inner closeness. What makes people true friends of each other, rather than strangers, most essentially, is not outer physical contact, shared activities, and superficial social interaction, by themselves alone, but much more importantly, arises from development of substantial inner connection, by giving deeply, generously, unselfishly, of their energies to each other, and openly, honestly, directly, revealing their actual experience and true essential core being to one another.

Many relationships fail when individuals seek to be heard and nurtured, but have not developed a sufficient ability to be unselfishly, empathically, tuned into, aware of, and caringly responsive to, the other person’s need to also be heard and nurtured, in terms of their particular needs, feelings, and experiences, in a given moment. It takes a rather high level of unselfish caring, empathic sensitivity, and emotional maturity to be able to put aside one’s own needs and train of thought (or inner mental monologue) for a while, in order to empathically tune into what another person is feeling and needing, in a given moment, and respond in a way that enables the other person to feel truly heard and deeply nourished/nurtured. Like a couples dance, both partners (or individuals in some other kind of relationship) need to learn how to flow together in empathic harmonious communion with one another (“in step” with each other’s dance movements, metaphorically speaking), and, relatedly, also flow in harmonious attunement with the “dance music” of love, or caring friendship, that seeks to lead both of them into greater attunement with each other, as a related “we”, rather than a separate “you versus me.”

My own experience has shown me that if one is overly invested in preserving the ego’s sense of separate self-awareness, willful selfish demands, and inner monologue fantasy (being overly absorbed in one’s own train of thought), then it can become difficult to self-forgetfully tune into what another person is experiencing, feeling, and needing, regardless of whether or not the other person verbally communicates that, or which can also be empathically intuited, as a kind of nonverbal communication. I find that when I hold certain presumptions or preconceptions about another individual, and about my relationship with/to them, then those presumptions can function like a kind of overlay, opaque filter, or smokescreen, that I, consciously or subconsciously, project upon them, preventing me from directly contacting their actual experiential states, because I am, instead, projecting my own preconceptions upon them.

I find that even negative feelings, such as, frustration, or even anger, can be expressed in a constructive, nonjudgmental, non-blaming, open, sincerely caring, non-evasive, manner, which usually leads to greater understanding of each other, and of whatever issue has been blocking us from being in harmonious caring attunement with each other (preventing us from being “on the same page”, so to speak), and once those issues are constructively explored into and deeply understood, then they can be truly resolved and transcended (rather than merely being covered over, buried, or suppressed), enabling emotional closeness and caring feelings in the relationship to grow. I find that being honest with myself, in terms of being willing to openly admit to myself when I am permitting previously unrecognized, non-constructive, insincere, ego “games” to undermine the relationship, such as, evasiveness (talking or chattering without really saying anything), letting myself become emotionally shut down (engaging in emotional abandonment, which can function as a way of subtly trying to punish the other person, by withholding caring, affection, or attentive listening), giving in to wounded pride, as a resentful attitude, or adopting an overly selfishly demanding attitude. I find that when I am willing to acknowledge and let go of such egocentric habitual patterns, then those obstructing factors that tend to block caring feelings and mutual understanding tend to fall away, naturally, effortlessly.

For a relationship to endure and grow, it is important for both individuals to be good friends in each other, willing to confide in each other, be there for each other emotionally as well as physically in times of need, and be willing to share difficult times, and patiently work through persistent problems in the relationship, rather than being quick to abandon the other person, and the relationship with them, when discomfort arises. That is what it means to be an unselfishly devoted “friend for all seasons” rather than a selfishly fickle “fair-weather friend.” When I do not understand how to constructively understand and resolve, disagreements and other problems, in a relationship, then I find it helpful to invite the spirit of unselfish pure love to interpret the situation, which can enable me to see beyond, and not be myopically, exclusively, locked into, the ego’s interpretations of those situations, which are often based on incorrect presumptions and non-constructive, unrealistic, selfish wants.

I find that when I let go of the ego’s overly controlling, willful, prideful, selfish, narcissistically self- absorbed tendencies (as in the ancient Greek Myth story of Narcissus), that I find that the flow of love, or sincerely caring friendship, is no longer blocked, and then harmony and mutual empathic understanding arises automatically, effortlessly, spontaneously. When those ego “coverings”, “filters”, “overlays”, or “smokescreens”, are removed, then there is no longer any blockage to good communication and deep empathic communion with each other. That reminds me of one of my favorite songs, “On a clear day, you can see forever….” Along these lines, I find the philosopher Martin Buber’s distinction between I-Thou relationships (genuinely caring) and I-It relationships (egocentric, selfishly exploitative) relationships helpful, as described in some of his writings, such as, “I and Thou”, and “The Way of Response.”

Anyone who wishes to read more of our inspirational/transformational insights should see our two published books, 1) Psychological Healing Through Creative Self-Understanding and Self-Transformation. (ISBN: 978-1-62857-075-5) and 2) Deepening Your Personal Relationships: Developing Emotional Intimacy and Good Communication. (ISBN: 978-1-61897-590-4). The primary author is Dr. Max Hammer, with contributions from secondary authors Dr. Barry J. Hammer and Dr. Alan C. Butler. These books can be purchased from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or our author/publisher website, http://sbprabooks.com/MaxHammer. The latter website also posts our other blogs, and describes our books and us as authors.

NEW EMPOWERING SELF-HELP BOOKS AVAILABLE

These books will be very valuable for anyone who is seeking to compassionately transform their individual life, personal relationships, and society. This involves developing true experiential self-understanding as the basis of liberating self-transformation, healing emotional pain and inner conflict, developing inner peace, happiness, creativity, spiritual awareness; as well as developing psychologically healthy, deeply satisfying, successful, personal relationships, with true love, empathic emotional intimacy, and good communication; and extending similar principles as a way of transforming social networks, local communities, and global society for the better.

PRIMARY AUTHOR: DR. MAX HAMMER (WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM DR. BARRY J. HAMMER AND DR. ALAN C. BUTLER)

THE TITLES OF OUR NEW BOOKS ARE:

1. “DEEPENING YOUR PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS: DEVELOPING EMOTIONAL INTIMACY AND GOOD COMMUNICATION”   (ISBN: 978-1-61897-590-4)

1. “PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALING THROUGH CREATIVE SELF-UNDERSTANDING AND SELF-TRANSFORMATION.” (ISBN: 978-1-62857-075-5)

THESE BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE  (IN SOFT COVER PRINT AND VARIOUS ELECTRONIC VERSIONS ) THROUGH AMAZON, BARNES AND NOBLE, AND THE AUTHOR/PUBLISHER WEBSITE, http://sbprabooks.com/MaxHammer  Wholesalers please email bookorder@sbpra.net

LINKS TO RELATED INSPIRATIONAL/TRANSFORMATIONAL BLOGS, RADIO INTERVIEWS, AND YOUTUBE VIDEOS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Dr. Max Hammer and Dr. Alan C. Butler are psychologists from Maine, with distinguished careers as Psychology faculty at the University of Maine Psychology Department (Dr. Max Hammer at the rank of Full Professor and Dr. Alan C. Butler at the rank of Cooperative Associate Professor), psychotherapists, clinical psychology consultants, diagnosticians, as well as supervisors of graduate students and interns in the practice of psychotherapy. Dr. Max Hammer was one of the core founders of the Clinical Psychology program at the University of Maine. Dr. Alan C. Butler was one of the original staff members at the University of Maine counseling center, also served as Director of its Internship training program for over thirty years, and was instrumental in developing that program. Dr. Barry J. Hammer, also from Maine, has a specialization in the history of world religions, and for many years has studied the process of psychological and spiritual transformation, and its applicability to enhancing human relationships.

The primary author, the late Dr. Max Hammer, was an editor and a major contributor of two previously published books, The theory and Practice of Psychotherapy with Specific Disorders (Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas Publisher, 1972); and The Practice of Psychotherapy with Children (Homewood, Illinois: Dorsey Press, 1967). He also published about 30 articles in the fields of psychotherapy and clinical psychology.

Links to Radio Interviews and YouTube Videos where the books and authors are discussed:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/authormarketingideasradio/2014/01/27/first-interview-with-barry-hammer

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/authormarketingideasradio/2014/01/28/second-interview-with-barry-hammer

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/authormarketingideasradio/2014/01/29/third-interview-with-barry-hammer

Barry Hammer, Psychological Healing Through Creative Self-Understanding and Self-Transformation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVrtJWHe1Dc&feature=youtu.be

Barry Hammer, Deepening Your Personal Relationships https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFu2YZrpzj4&feature=youtu.be

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ANOTHER VERSION OF MY PRESS RELEASE FOLLOWS BELOW:

Contact: Ellen Green, Press Manager, Strategic Book Group - PressManager@StrategicBookGroup.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dr. Max Hammer’s Two Books:

‘Deepening Your Personal Relationships: Developing Emotional Intimacy and Good Communication’ and ‘Psychological Healing Through Creative Self-Understanding and Self-Transformation’

Will be Showcased at Book Expo America (BEA) in New York City

These books will be represented at BEA by publisher Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Agency, along with its sister companies Author Marketing Ideas and Print on Demand Global. This trio of companies represents thousands of authors’ work at book fairs and expos around the world, negotiating rights sales for both digital and print catalogues. BEA is considered the No. 1 book and author event in the U.S. and will be held May 29-31 at the Javits Center in New York City.

Deepening Your Personal Relationships: Developing Emotional Intimacy and Good Communication

(ISBN: 978-61897-590-4)

Dr. Max Hammer, With Dr. Barry J. Hammer and Dr. Alan C. Butler

Deepening Your Personal Relationships was written by three experts in the field, Dr. Max Hammer, Dr. Alan C. Butler, and Dr. Barry J. Hammer. Their combined expertise will help you in Developing Emotional Intimacy and Good Communication, which is beneficial in all types of relationships.  

The book explains how to achieve psychologically healthy and fulfilling interpersonal relationships by using effective communication, empathy, shared transformational development, and constructive conflict resolution. Deepening Your Personal Relationships provides original, meaningful, and transformational insights that are especially helpful in understanding how to overcome our subconscious egocentric resistance against good communication and emotional intimacy.

Readers wanting to enhance their personal relationships, gain insight into transformational self-help, and achieve compassionate social transformation will find this book especially helpful. It will also be of keen interest to professional relationship counselors.

Watch the video on the attached video pdf or at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFu2YZrpzj4&feature=youtu.be   approved

DEEPENING YOUR PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS: DEVELOPING EMOTIONAL INTIMACY AND GOOD COMMUNICATION (ISBN: 978-1-61897-590-4) is now available for $24.50 and can be ordered through the publisher’s website: http://sbprabooks.com/MaxHammer or at www.amazon.com or www.barnesandnoble.com.

WHOLESALERS: This book is distributed by Ingram Books and other wholesale distributors. Contact your representative with the ISBN for purchase. Wholesale purchase for retailers, universities, libraries, and other organizations is also available through the publisher; please email bookorder@aeg-online-store.com.

____________

Psychological Healing through Creative Self-Understanding and Self-Transformation

(ISBN: 978-1-62857-075-5)

Dr. Max Hammer, With Dr. Barry J. Hammer and Dr. Alan C. Butler

Are you ready for psychological healing? This book is your liberating, empowering self-help guide to psychological growth, self-understanding, self-transformation, healing of psychological pain, and achieving psychological and spiritual fulfillment. Some aspects of psychological health and fulfillment in the book are authenticity, sincerity, integrity, unselfish love, empathy, creativity, intuition, courage, strength of character, emotional security, vitality, and inner wholeness.

Readers will discover a new understanding of effective psychotherapy, diagnostic assessment testing research; and the distinction between the ego self-concept, the experiential self, and the transpersonal self (the real self, the relational self, and the holistic self).

Principles of psychological self-understanding and healing self-transformation can enhance the development of personal fulfillment and inner peace, good interpersonal relationships, as well as facilitate effective and fulfilling ways of living in society. Self-transformation at your fingertips!

Watch the video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVrtJWHe1Dc&feature=youtu.be

Listen to Dr. Barry Hammer discuss the books on BlogTalk Radio:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/authormarketingideasradio/2014/01/27/first-interview-with-barry-hammer
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/authormarketingideasradio/2014/01/28/second-interview-with-barry-hammerhttp://www.blogtalkradio.com/authormarketingideasradio/2014/01/29/third-interview-with-barry-hammer

PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALING THROUGH CREATIVE SELF-UNDERSTANDING AND SELF-TRANSFORMATION (ISBN: 978-1-62857-075-5) is now available for $28.50 and can be ordered through the publisher’s website: http://sbprabooks.com/MaxHammer

or at www.amazon.com or www.barnesandnoble.com.

WHOLESALERS: This book is distributed by Ingram Books and other wholesale distributors. Contact your representative with the ISBN for purchase. Wholesale purchase for retailers, universities, libraries, and other organizations is also available through the publisher; please email bookorder@aeg-online-store.com.

About the Authors: The primary author, Dr. Max Hammer, was a distinguished psychology professor and supervisor of graduate students and interns in the clinical psychology, psychotherapy, and counseling practice training program of the Psychology Department at the University of Maine for many years, as well as a respected psychotherapist and clinical psychology consultant and diagnostician. He was one of the original core clinicians who founded and developed the clinical psychology program at the University of Maine. In his work with graduate and undergraduate students in that program, he provided a humanistic and transpersonal perspective, with an refreshing emphasis on flexible, warmly caring, empathic responsiveness to the needs of the individual psychotherapy client.

Contributing author Dr. Alan C. Butler, a distinguished colleague and friend of Dr. Max Hammer, was a cooperating associate professor of psychology at the University of Maine. He was one of the original staff members at the University of Maine Counseling Center, and served as training director for its internship program for over 30 years.

The other secondary contributing author, Dr. Barry J. Hammer, eldest son of Dr. Max Hammer, and also from Maine, has a specialization in the history of world religions, and for many years has studied the process of psychological and spiritual transformation, and its applicability to enhancing human relationships.

Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Co, LLC 
www.AuthorMarketingIdeas.com    www.PublishOnDemandGlobal.com    www.StrategicBookClub.com

ABOUT: Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Co, LLC provides book publishing, book marketing, and e-Book services to over 10,000 writers around the world, employing 150 people who live throughout the US and work virtually through telecommunication. Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Co, LLC is experiencing over 30% growth per year, having published approximately 3000 authors with almost 100 new releases per month. Our books are available through Ingram, the largest book distributor in the world, as well as in bookstores, through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and all online channels. Strategic Book Publishing and Rights Co, LLC attends and exhibits at the major book expositions in London, New York, China, and Germany each year.

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###

Transformational Life Coach and Relationship Advisor

Dr. Barry Hammer

I can help you explore any kind of interpersonal relationship issue, including marriage and family counseling, or enhancing other kinds of significant personal relationships. I can also help you gain insight in regard to any kind of vocational, psychological, spiritual, or societal, issue that may be important to you, e.g., clarifying your basic goals in life; actualizing your natural individual potentials; enhancing your level of creative functioning; coping with difficult life circumstances; facing opportunities for constructive personal transformation; helping other individuals and contributing to positive social transformation through one's career, volunteer work, and personal life, and so on. I will show you how to deal effectively with the necessary challenges of life that one has to face.

I

n my relationship counseling services, I help you learn how to develop open, honest, constructive, meaningful, communication with other individuals, as a way of producing greater levels of mutual empathic understanding, constructive conflict resolution, and co-creative transformational empowerment, in your personal relationships. I can also help you understand how connecting to other individuals, in unselfish, deeply caring, relationships, can enable one to tap into a regenerative level of life energy, for enhanced vitality, psychological transformation and spiritual growth, optimal well-being, creative inspiration, as well as holistic healing of heart, mind, and body.

In addition to providing counseling dealing with issues pertaining to enhancing one's own personal relationships and individual life, I am also able to provide counseling for issues related to contributing to the constructive transformation of contemporary society. This involves understanding how the synergistic/co-creative power of love can gradually, constructively, transform the collective heart of humanity, from a predominantly selfish, fearful, abusive, predatory, addictive, toxic, orientation, to a more unselfish, compassionate, relaxed, secure, wholesome, orientation.

My Credentials: I have interdisciplinary PhD in Religious Studies/Spirituality and History of World Cultures, and have also taken extensive graduate level coursework and supervised practicums in Psychology and Counseling. I have many years of experience in counseling, mentoring, and have published two books, one focusing on developing true experiential psychological self-understanding and constructive personal transformation, and the other dealing with developing deeply caring interpersonal relationships, involving good communication, emotional closeness, co-creative/synergistic empowerment, and holistic transformation of one's consciousness and functioning.

Contact Information: Email: mhbj8@hotmail.com

Please also see my two published books, 1) Psychological Healing Through Creative Self-Understanding and Self-Transformation. (ISBN: 978-1-62857-075-5) and 2) Deepening Your Personal Relationships: Developing Emotional Intimacy and Good Communication. (ISBN: 978-1-61897-590-4). Primary author: Dr. Max Hammer (my beloved late father), with contributions from secondary authors Dr. Barry J. Hammer (me) and Dr. Alan C. Butler. These books can be purchased from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or our author/publisher website, http://sbprabooks.com/MaxHammer. The latter website also posts our other blogs, and describes our books and us as authors.

My books and blogs will be very valuable for anyone who is seeking to compassionately transform their individual life, personal relationships, and society. This involves developing true experiential self-understanding as the basis of liberating self-transformation, healing emotional pain and inner conflict, developing inner peace, happiness, creativity, spiritual awareness; as well as developing psychologically healthy, deeply satisfying, successful, personal relationships, with true love, empathic emotional intimacy, and good communication; and extending similar principles as a way of transforming social networks, local communities, and global society for the better.