Frager, Bob (USA)
Biography:
Robert Frager, Ph.D. received his doctorate in Social Psychology from Harvard University in 1967 and has taught Psychology at Harvard, University of California, Berkeley, and University of California, Santa Cruz. In 1975, he founded the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, where he is currently Professor of Psychology and Director of the Spiritual Guidance Program.
He is the co-author of Personality and Personal Growth (6th edition) (Prentice-Hall 2005; (Also available in Spanish, Portugese, Russian and Japanese editions) and Who am I? Personality Typologies for Self-Understanding (Tarcher/Putnam, 1994). He has three books on Sufism: Essential Sufism (with Jim Fadiman, HarperSanFrancisco, 1997), Love is the Wine: Teachings of a Sufi Master in America (Philosophical Research Society, 1999; also available in Spanish, Bosnian, British, and Turkish editions), and Heart, Self, and Soul: The Sufi Psychology of Growth, Balance, and Harmony (Quest Books, 1999; also available in Spanish, Indonesian and Turkish editions.
He has been practicing and teaching martial arts for 50 years, was a personal student of the Founder of Aikido, and holds the rank of 7th degree black belt, which has been awarded to only a handful of Westerners.
Workshop: Aikido: A Transpersonal Discipline for World Peace
The Founder of Aikido taught that there are two goals in Aikido: the smaller goal is to purify ourselves so divine energy flows freely through us; and the greater goal is to work for world peace.
There is no competition in Aikido. In Aikido we seek agatsu, or “self-victory” rather than victory over others. The Founder, who was a highly developed mystic, often explained that Aikido is to be practiced “standing on the floating bridge between Heaven and Earth.” He taught, “Aikido is the realization of Love” and that ”The secret of Aikido is to harmonize ourselves with the movement of the universe and bring ourselves into accord with the universe itself.” In this session, we will study and try to experience these principles. The workshop will include the theory and basic practices of centering, working with Ki, or energy flow, blending with others, and transforming conflict into harmony.