Guideposts to Meaning: Discovering What Really Matters

Human beings not only have a will to pleasure (Sigmund Freud) and a will to power (Alfred Adler), but also a will to meaning (Viktor Frankl). The person therefore is not merely a collection of drives, but also has a uniquely human component-a human spirit. This noëtic dimension is responsible for the ability of each individual to face the inevitable blows of fate that life gives us with courage, creativity, and insight. It is not us who question Life, Frankl noted, it is Life that questions us, and to which we must answer.

But how do we do that?

Guideposts to Meaning offers step-by-step processes for discovering what really matters in your life--the personal meanings, beliefs, and values that can truly make your life worth living.

JOSEPH FABRY was a student and disciple of Dr. Viktor Frankl, the creator of Logotherapy ("Health through Meaning") and author of the best-selling Man's Search for Meaning. Logotherapy was tested in the crucible of Hitler's concentration camps, where Frankl marveled at the ability of some individuals to find meaning even in the most dehumanizing circumstances. Logotherapy has turned people all over the world from despair and frustration into a positive direction, and helped them overcome and face crises. It has helped them build a realistic self-image and strengthen self-esteem. Long a spokesperson for Logotherapy in the United States, Joseph Fabry has written a number of books including the popular The Pursuit of Meaning, which has been translated into nine languages, Logotherapy in Action, Logotherapy in Sharing Groups, and One and One Makes Three: Story of a FriendshipFabry was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1909 and obtained a Doctor of Law degree from the University of Vienna, but as a Jew had to flee to Belgium where he was kept in a detention camp, then to England, and eventually to the United States. By 1942, he was writing radio scripts for the Voice of America, even though he had never studied English until 1938. He went on to become an editor for the University of California at Berkeley. He retired from the University to found the Institute of Logotherapy, a research and training center for the meaning-oriented methods of Dr. Frankl and his followers. Fabry was director of the Institute's publication program and Editor of the International Forum for Logotherapy. He taught logotherapy at the J. F. Kennedy University in Orinda, California, led sharing groups, and gave seminars and training to persons in the helping professions.