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Frederick Salomon Perls

Frederick Salomon Perls Quotes

Psychiatrist

Frederick Salomon Perls, born on July 8, 1893, in Germany, and died on March 14, 1970, in the United States, was a prominent psychiatrist and one of the founders of existential-humanistic psychology. He made significant contributions to the fields of psychiatry and psychotherapy, particularly in the areas of psychological treatment and theories of self-actualization.

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All Gestalt Ifs Responsibility Achieve Beautiful Chance Conformity Differences Energy Existence

Famous Frederick Salomon Perls Quotes

“Learning is nothing but discovery that something is possible. To teach means to show a person that somethingis possible.”

Learning Teaching Autodidacticism

Book:Gestalt Therapy Verbatim

Source: Gestalt Therapy Verbatim

“By remaining alert in the centre, we can acquire a creative ability of seeing both sides of an occurrence and completing an incomplete half.”

Balance Dialectical

Book:Ego, Hunger and Aggression

Source: Ego, Hunger and Aggression

“I wonder why people use only walls for hanging pictures.”

People Use Wonder Wall Exhibitions

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“It feels much nobler to feel guilty than resentful, and it takes more courage to express resentment than guilt. With expressing guilt you expect to pacify your opponent; with expressing resentment you might stir up hostility in him.”

Feels Might Guilt Guilty Opponents Resentment Hostility Resentful

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“You cannot achieve happiness. Happiness happens and is a transitory stage.”

Happens Achieve Stage Transitory Gestalt

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“If you are bored, you are not paying attention.”

Ifs Attention Pay Attention Bored

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“Nothing changes until it becomes what it is.”

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“Those that fight don't listen, those that listen don't fight.”

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“You are you, and I am I, and if by chance we find each other, it's beautiful. If not, it can't be helped.”

Ifs Beautiful Chance Gestalt

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“Learning is discovering that somethinkg is possible.”

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“There's always a possibility of richer maturation - of taking more and more responsibility for yourself and for your life...And this is what I hope...to make you understand how much you gain by taking re-sponsibility for every emotion, every movement you make, every thought you have...We touch each other by honestly being what we are, not intentionally making contact.”

Emotion Responsibility Movement Possibility Gains Honestly Contact

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“So if you find out how you prevent yourself from growing, from using your potential, you have away of increasing this, making life richer, making you more and more capable of mobilizing yourself. And our potential is based upon a very peculiar attitude: to live and review every fresh second”

Ifs Attitude Growing Capable Reviews Peculiar

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“Humans don't really improve on our own functioning, we only interfere with it, distort it, and disguise it.”

Humans Disguise Interfere

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“I am not in this world to live up to other people's expectations, nor do I feel that the world must live up to mine.”

People World Life Feels Motivational This World Mines Expectations Positivity Conformity Conform Non Conformity Gestalt

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“...nobody can stand truth if it is told to him. Truth can be tolerated only if you discover it yourself because then, the pride of discovery makes the truth palatable.”

Ifs Pride Discovery Gestalt

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“A thousand plastic flowers don't make a desert bloom. A thousand empty faces don't fill an empty room".”

Faces Rooms Flower Thousand Empty Desert Plastic Empty Rooms Plastic Flowers

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“The person most in control is the person who can give up control.”

Giving Persons Giving Up

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“I do my thing and you do your thing. I am not in this world to live up to your expectations, And you are not in this world to live up to mine. You are you, and I am I, and if by chance we find each other, it's beautiful. If not, it can't be helped.”

Ifs World Beautiful Chance This World Mines Expectations Gestalt

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“I have one aim only: to impart a fraction of the meaning of the word now.”

Aim Fractions Impart

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“Lose your mind and come to your senses.”

Inspirational Mind Philosophy Body Loses Medicine Senses Thought Provoking Psychiatrist Soma Gestalt

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“Teaching means to show a person that something is possible.”

Mean Persons Shows Teaching

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“Have a dialogue between the two opposing parts and you will find that they always start out fighting each other until we come to an appreciation of difference.”

Two Fighting Differences Conflict Appreciation Dialogue Opposing Fighting Each Other

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“I believe that any single dream contains the essential message about our existence.”

Believe Dream I Believe Existence Essentials Messages

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“To mature means to take responsibility for your life, to be on your own. Psychoanalysis fosters the infantile state by considering that the past is responsible for the illness.”

Mean States Past Responsibility Responsible Illness Mature Considering Taking Responsibility Psychoanalysis Express Yourself Infantile Responsibility For Your Life Gestalt

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“Fear is excitement without the breath.”

Energy Fear Breaths Breathing Excitement

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“Our dependency makes slaves out of us, especially if this dependency is a dependency of our self-esteem. If you need encouragement, praise, pats on the back from everybody, then you make everybody your judge.”

Ifs Needs Self Self Esteem Judging Criticism Encouragement Praise Slave Esteem Low Self Esteem Dependency Self Criticism Gestalt Need Encouragement Criticism And Praise

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“The only difference between a wise man and a fool is that the wise man knows he's playing.”

Knows Men Differences Wise Fool Foolishness

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“If you take responsibility for what you are doing to yourself, how you produce your symptoms, how you produce your illness, how you produce your existence-the very moment you get in touch with yourself-growth begins, integration begins.”

Ifs Moments Growth Existence Responsibility Produce Illness Conformity Integration Symptoms Taking Responsibility Non Conformity

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“Anxiety is the gap between now and later.”

Anxiety Fearless Relax Gaps Calmness Now And Later

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“You cannot achieve happiness. Happiness happens and is a transitory stage. Imagine how happy I felt when I got relief from bladder pressure. How long did that happiness last?”

Long Happens Lasts Happiness Felt Imagine Achieve Stage Pressure Relief Transitory Bladder Gestalt

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“We live in a house of mirrors and think we are looking out the windows.”

Thinking House Window Mirrors

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“Awareness in itself is healing.”

Healing Awareness

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“Learning is to discover that something is possible. We are using most of our energies for self-destructiv e games, self-preventing games. We prevent ourselves from growing the very moment something unpleasant, something painful comes up. At that moment we become phobic, we run away, we desensitize ourselves. Neurotic suffering is suffering in imagination, suffering in fantasy.”

Self Moments Running Suffering Games Energy Imagination Fantasy Growing Come Up Painful That Moment Running Away Neurotic Preventing

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

“As Albert Einstein once said to me: "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity." But what is much more widespread than the actual stupidity is the playing stupid, turning off your ear, not listening, not seeing.”

Humans Said Two Universe Seeing Stupid Listening Ears Infinite Stupidity Two Things Helpless Human Stupidity

Author:Frederick Salomon Perls

About the Author

Born: July 8, 1893
Died: March 14, 1970
Known for: Psychiatrist
Quotes: 34

Related Topics

Gestalt Ifs Responsibility Achieve Beautiful Chance Conformity Differences Energy Existence

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People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

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Ego, Hunger and AggressionRelated source material

Gestalt Therapy VerbatimRelated source material

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