By Anja Markovic
We are faced with daily opportunities for accomplishing values that we most identify with. However, logotherapy does not merely focus on what the individual strives toward without taking into account the complex constellation of daily moments the individual is faced with. As Frankl (2011) explains in his book Man’s Search for Ultimate Meaning, “man must be equipped with the capacity to listen to and obey the ten thousand demands and commandments hidden in the ten thousand situations with which life is confronting him. And it is these demands that are revealed to him by an alert conscience. Only then, by virtue of an alert conscience, can he also resist the effects of the existential vacuum” (p. 64). Now, what does this mean in the context of time dimensions? Logotherapy is conscience-centered psychotherapy. In the sense that it motivates the client to live in the present moment through helping him develop the alert conscience. Alert conscience helps us to stay mindful of what is happening around and within us, while at the same time paying attention to the value that we are invited by Life to accomplish through a specific moment. In other words, while logotherapy does share some ground with mindfulness approach in its focus on the present, through dialogue with a logotherapist the client is particularly sensibilized to actively listen for specific “hints” or calls to meaning that each unique moment invites them to fulfill.
When considering the past and future, logotherapy promotes mindsets of responsibleness and growth rather than false positivism. It is important to note here that logotherapy does not support false positivism through negating the past pains and sufferings and the inherent uncertainties of the future.
What logotherapy does instead is support clients in benevolently accepting what cannot be undone or changed anymore and encouraging them to embrace what still can be learnt from the past and hence transformed in the future. This perspective promotes a shift in attitude towards the transitoriness of life through highlighting the gift of responsibility inherent to each choice made in the present.
Ultimately, by actively engaging in the logotherapeutic process and practicing the art of alert conscience, the clients can reactivate and polish the skills of critical and selective thinking, resilience, and self-regulation – essential tools for navigating the existential challenges of the 21st century.
Reference:
Frankl, V. E. (2011). Man’s search for ultimate meaning. Basic Books.