My name is David Geiser. Like many people, I have had various roles and experiences which have shaped my life and my views. First, I’ll get the surface history out of the way: I am by training and profession a clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist. I have just retired after 38 years of practice. I am married to my second wife and we have cats. I am a father of 3 sons from my first marriage. I have nurtured a lifelong interest in history, philosophy, and different spiritual orientations. I lived and studied in Hamburg, Germany for a year. Before I obtained my degree in clinical psychology, I taught English as a second language for 2 years in Barcelona, Spain and for another 8 years in the U.S.A. to foreign university students from around the world. These experiences and roles have provided me the opportunity to learn about the perspectives of different people and cultures within the USA and around the world.
First, if you have not already done so, please read the introduction to this website on the Home page. It provides a thematic overview and general focus of the blog. I hope that this blog’s ideas, perspectives, and suggested practices will provide a foundation for building your own awareness and understanding of yourself, what drives you, what is important for you, and how you see yourself in relationship to other people and things in your world. I do not have answers or know what is best, though sometimes I may sound like I do. This blog is an exploration, an inquiry, a journal of observations that I wish to share. It does not hold some golden secret of universal happiness but it will undoubtedly offer different perspectives than those to which you normally affix yourself daily. Awareness is the key that makes possible real understanding, seeing all the parts and their relationships without forcing them to fit with our preconceptions and formulas. Awareness reveals our intellectual defenses and behavioral habits and patterns, and is the precursor of wise action and fair treatment, not only of ourselves, but of others. I also hope that my presentation does not seem too serious and didactic, as I am aware of my own tendencies in that direction. I would urge the reader to keep an open mind. I am also open to constructive criticism and different viewpoints. Within the larger human community, workable answers to the question of how we can make the most of our individual lives while also being fair to others can only be found through respectful, considerate inquiry and an honest exchange of ideas.
This blog should not be considered a form of therapy, which can only be done on a small group or individual basis, taking into account the particular characteristics and situations of the participant(s). Although some of the ideas may be “therapeutic” for most people in a broad sense, they may not be appropriate or function as adequate therapy for people in genuine need of personalized clinical help. This blog is not a substitute for clinical guidance, if that is what you need. If you have a need for clinical help or if you are attending this site in search of clinical guidance or a substitute for it, I would encourage you to seek a clinical consultation with a licensed practitioner in your area.
Loki and Lili are my desk companions. I thought it would be fitting to include their images because, being cats, they embody moment-by-moment awareness. They are always honest and never influenced by judgments or beliefs. They act quite naturally, in the present, without deceit or innuendo. They are my own reminders to be aware of the present and not to be misled by bias or false belief, though, being human, I often am.