Myths of Time

• Divergence in Gestalt therapy? by Timothy C. McNamara, 3/8/97
  • Condensing the Field by Philip Brownell, 3/15/97
    • Time by Joe Wysong, Editor, The Gestalt Journal, 3/15/97
      
      

As a poet and musician (who happens to be a Gestalt theorist), I have considered – for almost five decades now – the issue of spontaneity and its relationship to authenticity. I am moved toward the notion that the conventional concept of spontaneity is a myth, that is, when it is not an outright deception. While I am often impressed by my first and immediate responses, I am also impressed by the re-working of these responses. Revision and re-consideration can be, and should be, as spontaneous and authentic as first responses.

The primary reason that I only publish occasionally is that I am seldom finished with my work: I return to it, again and again, to find its meaning and to refine its purpose. The pianist Glen Gould once observed that much of Mozart is "trash". He was right: the "trash" of Mozart is that part of his work that does not happen to be inspired by immediate experience or that part that did not benefit from due consideration. Nice point, Joe.

• Mozart as Trash by Philip Brownell, 3/22/97