Stanley Keleman 1931-2018

We just learned that Stanley Keleman died peacefully in his sleep, August 11, 2018. He was the creator of Formative Psychology and the Founder of the Centre for Energetic Studies, Berkeley, CA. He gave endlessly and with goodwill to so many. He was also part of Spectrum DNA. His presence will live on through his professional community and through the work they do at Spectrum. Rest in peace dear one. Our condolences to all who loved and shared their lives with Stanley Keleman

In Memory: Joop Valstar 1945-2018

"In a world which is increasingly superficial and directed to appearances and the outside world Joop was a man of character and depth. Not to say that he didn’t care for his personal appearance – on the contrary, he did. He dressed with flair. Perhaps the first thing you noticed about him was his beautiful coat or hand-crafted shoes; then his tall stature, greying hair and marked face, which could crease with a grin and warmth, or with great seriousness. Joop listened. He chewed over what you said – perhaps for some minutes, some hours or sometimes days. Then would come a comment or an answer to a question or a problem, which he had considered from many different angles. He was never satisfied with a simple answer – his solutions were rounded, thought out, compassionate, surprising, meaningful.

EUGENE GENDLIN, GROUND-BREAKING PSYCHOLOGIST AND PHILOSOPHER, HAS DIED AT AGE 90

Eugene T. Gendlin, the American philosopher and psychologist who developed the mind-body connection practice called "Focusing," died on May 1 at the age of 90 in Spring Valley, New York. His death was announced by the International Focusing Institute (www.focusing.org), which was founded in 1985 by Dr. Gendlin to promote the practice of Focusing and the philosophy behind it, which he called the “Philosophy of the Implicit.” Focusing is an experiential, body-oriented method for generating insights and emotional healing. Gendlin's philosophy falls under the branch of philosophy called phenomenology. Significant influences on his philosophical work included Edmund Husserl, Jean-Paul Sartre and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. A nearly exhaustive library of his work is maintained by the Institute in the Gendlin Online Library.

Jaak Panksepp passes at age 73

Jaak Panksepp, a neuroscientist who helped reveal the emotional lives of animals by tickling rats and listening to their ultrasonic laughter in experiments that upended his field and opened new possibilities for the treatment of depression and other forms of mental illness, died April 18 at his home in Bowling Green, Ohio. He was 73.