Walenstadt, Switzerland
On 2-6 July, I was invited to participate in the 10th International Peace
Seminar in Walenstadt on the beautiful Walensee in eastern Switzerland. The
theme of the seminar was "What Heals? - On
Personality and Relationship" with presentations by a number of
distinguished psychotherapists, as well as perspectives on justice, music,
and my own presentation on "Healing
Our Relationship with Nature". I had already contributed to one of
these seminars in 2006, and more pictures of the region can be seen here.
Walenstadt and the Walensee
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The Walensee from my hotel room
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views of the Walensee and surrounding mountains
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Walenstadt
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Walenstadt and the Ghaemmaghami house where the seminar was held
International Peace Seminar
After the opening of the seminar by Dr. Assad Ghaemmaghami, with translation
by his son Payam, Prof. Farhad Sobhani, a doctor of psychology with
psychotherapeutic training who taught for 36 years at the Free University of
Berlin, lectured on "Man as a Being with an Eternal Soul - On the Meaning of
Spirituality". Professor Vladimir Smekel, emeritus Professor of Psychology
at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic, gave a beautiful presentation
on "Wounds of the Soul and the Healing Power of Friendship". Dr.
Ghaemmaghami followed with an explanation of "The Contribution of the
Psychology of the Capacity to Know and to Love to Education and
Psychotherapy". Arthur Dahl then discussed "Healing
Our Relationship with Nature", and Prof. Dr. Ulrike Ehlert, full
professor of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at the University of
Zurich, spoke on "What Heals from the Psychobiological Viewpoint?". Dr.
Pearl La Marca-Ghaemmaghami of the University of Zurich explained the
importance of "Psychotherapy during Pregnancy", and lawyer and law student
Payam and Paya Ghaemmaghami provided a broad perspective on "The
Far-reaching Healing Power of Justice". Dr. Assad Ghaemmaghami followed
again with presentations on "The Contribution of Couple and Marriage
Therapy" and "On Message, Personality Development, and Relationship in
Psychotherapy". In the closing session, pianist and composer Peter Held and
his wife Petra, discussed and illustrated "The Significance of Music".
All the presentations demonstrated the importance of a spiritual perspective
in creating a deeper understanding of human psychology and in making
psychotherapy more effective. The seminar was followed by an intercultural
summer celebration and barbeque.
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Dr. Assad Ghaemmaghami opening the seminar, and first speaker Prof.
Farhad Sobhani from Berlin, Payam Ghaemmaghami translating
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Introducing the second speaker, Prof. Vladimir Smekal from the Czech
Republic
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Dr. Assad Ghaemmaghami speaking; part of the audience
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Dr. Pearl La Marca-Ghaemmaghami speaking; Peter Held
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Petra and Peter Held on the significance of music
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Intercultural Summer Celebration after the seminar
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At the barbeque; the Ghaemmaghami family