This is my application essay to the University of Pennsylvania Master in Applied Positive Psychology program, which I wrote in March, 2008. In a quest to clean up files on my computer, I found it tonight and it makes me smile to know I am still on my path towards freedom. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * For some time now, I have been thinking that I when my time comes, I’d like my tombstone to read, “It feels...
Finding voice in celebration of justice EDFD 554/Dr. Jeremy Price May 2006 Introduction In “the shadow of silent majorities,” then, as teachers learning along with those we try to provoke to learn, we may be able to inspire hitherto unheard voices. We may be able to empower people to rediscover their own memories and articulate them in the presence of others, whose space they can share. Such a project demands the capacity to unveil and disclose. It demands the exercise of imagination, enlivened by works of art, by situations of speaking and making. Perhaps we can at last devise reflective communities in the interstices...
My mom always said "no grass grows under his feet." "A bull in the china shop" was another popular metaphor for Little Louis. What can I say? I like to get going. What I'm learning, though, is that to sustain, I need support. We all need support. I yearn for real we: team. But am I/are we wired for this - or, have we been conditioned with scarce perceptions? These days, while I'm headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, I'm also traveling back and forth between here and Northern Valley, NJ -- both places I'm facilitating SOMO leadership, a concept to help learn...
Some up, some down It's been a crazy whirl lately. Old patterns New beliefs This stuff 'aint linear. New patterns are what I want: Focus, intention, and joy -- Abundance over scarcity Love not fear Health, wellness, integration Myself first And then all others in my life....
This is a series of correspondences with my family (20 aunts, uncles, and cousins who are primarily Republican), starting with a note I sent last week. It is here: "I wish my moderate Republican friends would simply be honest. They all say they're voting for Romney because of his economic policies (tenuous and ill-formed as they are), and that they disagree with him on gay rights. Fine. Then look me in the eye, speak with a level clear voice, and say, "My taxes and take-home pay mean more than your fundamental civil rights, the sanctity of your marriage, your right to...
[caption id="attachment_947" align="alignleft" width="225"] I dressed as a Human Sparker, lady style.[/caption] The last time I dressed as a woman I was in high school. I was Linda Richmond and my friend was Barbara Streisand. We went all coffee talk a la Mike Myers on Saturday Night Live. (Mind you this was before I came out of the closet.) It’s been a good 17 years (eek!) since I put on a dress. For the past several years, I’ve had a hankering to do it. Why? Just a sense that it would be good for my well-being to explore and own my feminine...
The field of positive psychology lost a great friend and contributor today: Dr. Chris Peterson (1950-2012). [caption id="attachment_934" align="alignleft" width="321"] RIP CP.And thank you.[/caption] You may know Dr. Peterson as the guy who researched the VIA: the character strengths inventory we use often in SOMO Leadership Labs. (We're also using his book in SOMO 300!) He put a lot of work into this tool, combing the world's many moral texts for a ubiquitous classification of strengths and virtues. I know him as Chris, one of my professors in grad school. What an amazing teacher: humorous, zestful (in his own way) and wise -...
Bringing Positive Psychology Home: There’s No Place Like It “In these days of wars and rumors of wars, haven’t you ever dreamed of a place where there was peace and security, where living was not a struggle but a lasting delight?” (Capra, 1937) Louis J. Alloro Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Character Strengths & Virtues, MAPP 701 Positive Psychology Center University of Pennsylvania January 21, 2008 Friend of Dorothy I have always been a “friend of Dorothy” (even before I knew what it meant, or, was comfortable with my own gayness) so watching The Wizard of Oz through a positive psychology lens was a real...