Breaking Free from the Cultural Neurosis

By: Dr. Alexander Lowen

Art: Kavan the Kid

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We want to be more alive and feel more, but we are afraid of it.

Our fear of life is seen in the way we keep busy so as not to feel, keep running so as not to face ourselves, or get high on liquor or drugs so as not to sense our being. Because we are afraid of life, we seek to control or master it. We believe that it is bad or dangerous to be carried away by our emotions.

The modern individual is committed to being successful, not to being a person. He belongs rightly to the “action generation,” whose motto is “do more but feel less.” This attitude characterizes much of modern sexuality: more action but less passion.

If we can face our inner emptiness, we will find fulfillment.