Network & Inspirations
Friends & Colleagues
Here you can find information about friends and colleagues of mine whose work and ideas might also be of interest for you.
David is a close friend of mine. He is an engineer, inventor, poet, artist, wilderness guide, and visionary. An uncompromising seeker of truth and of a way of life that resonates with our deepest nature.
He is undoubtedly one of the purest souls I've had the honor to meet.
Check out his website here.
Inspirations
Below you will find some of the people and books that have inspired me throughout my life.
Carpenter, engineer, physician, sociologist, psychiatrist. He was many things before life led him to psychotherapy, in which role I had the honor of meeting him. He was the most authentic and loving person I have ever met. When I think of our encounter now, it often feels like a story from a movie or written by a higher power. He was the decisive factor that helped me to turn my life around. He was the reason I finally started to believe in myself. There are no words of gratitude that would do him justice and none that he would accept himself, except:
I will do my best.
Rest in peace, Kurth.
Books:
- None. Because it wasn't what he said that counted, but how he was.
Nature
No groundbreaking rocket science, but I have had many of my clearest thoughts and inspirations while being in nature. Just sitting on a hill watching the birds fly towards an unknown end, greeted by the setting sun that fills the sky with the most luminous warmth. The worries of everyday life lift from my shoulders as an untamed joy of possibility starts filling my heart.
You know the feeling...
Even if no one else does nature accepts you as you are.
And if nature can do it, so can you.
Socrates
Probably the most famous figure in Western philosophy and at the same time the most inspiring one. For a reason, Socrates and Jesus are currently my greatest role models.
Books:
- Plato's writings in general (especially his early works)
- Just reading his Apologia gives you a sense of who he was.
Jesus of Nazareth
May sound like a joke coming from a philosopher, but for me, Jesus is probably the most inspiring figure of them all. I cannot think of another person who stood up for love and humanity as uncompromisingly as he did.
Books:
- The New Testament passages about Jesus (forget the bullshit you've been taught by the church and your religious upbringing, and instead try to feel what Jesus was like as a human being. Try to feel what he stood for. Feel what resonates in your soul).
Alexander Sutherland
Neill
An educator whose book "Summerhill: a radical approach to child rearing" was one of the most inspiring reads in the last years and actually broad tears to my eyes many times while reading due to his incredible bravery to believe and trust in the essential goodness of his pupils and humanity as such. If I could only recommend one book, this would be it. Best book on education I have ever seen. Eye-opener.
A spiritual teacher whose books sparked my first interest in spirituality and to whom I owe my first experiences of a reality beyond language and thought.
Books:
- The Power of Now
- A New Earth
Erich Fromm
Psychoanalyst, sociologist, philosopher. Fromm was another key inspiration for my interest in the human psyche and for questioning the status quo of our society. I appreciate his work to this day.
Books:
- To Have or to Be?
- Living authentically
Alan Watts
A religious philosopher who inspired and challenged my thinking like few others, especially in my early twenties. He was a door opener for many new ideas and a constant source of reassurance in troubled times.
Lectures:
- His lectures are particularly worthwhile (can be found on YouTube, Spotify or alanwatts.org)
Books:
- The Wisdom of Insecurity: A Message for an Age of Anxiety
- Nature, Man, and Women
- The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are
Laozi
He is considered the founder of Taoism. His work “Tao Te Ching" is perhaps the best attempt I have ever read to write about the inexpressible and the paradoxical nature of life.
I have repeatedly encountered his influence on genius people, even in areas that seem to have no direct connection to philosophy, such as improvisation theater (Keith Johnstone), martial arts (Bruce Lee), education (A. S. Neill), or agriculture (Masanobu Fukuoka).
Zhuangzi
Another central figure of Taoism. His book of the same name, “Zhuanzi”, presents examples of Taoism that often have a more practical connection to everyday life.