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Bruce Morse

Goodreads Author

Born

in New York City, The United States

Website

http://www.brucemorsegalleryofdreams.org/Site/W...

Genre

Biographies & Memoirs, Arts & Photography, Poetry

Member Since

February 2008

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/brucemorse

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After having read hundreds of psychology and self-help books, attended a number of self realization and self transformational workshops and participated in years of private and group therapy I have come to believe there is no simple or quick solution to serious
psychological problems that are the result of damaging relationships with one’s caretakers in early childhood.
My journey has been a lifetime struggle to resolve serious wounds that were incurred in the first dozen years of my life. Neglect, abandonment, physical, sexual and emotional abuse from the people I first loved distorted my self-image, diverted my energies from career fulfillment and destroyed my ability to enjoy intimate relationships for a large portion of my life.
Althoug After having read hundreds of psychology and self-help books, attended a number of self realization and self transformational workshops and participated in years of private and group therapy I have come to believe there is no simple or quick solution to serious
psychological problems that are the result of damaging relationships with one’s caretakers in early childhood.
My journey has been a lifetime struggle to resolve serious wounds that were incurred in the first dozen years of my life. Neglect, abandonment, physical, sexual and emotional abuse from the people I first loved distorted my self-image, diverted my energies from career fulfillment and destroyed my ability to enjoy intimate relationships for a large portion of my life.
Although sometimes I wonder what my life had would have been like had I had a more propitious environment which supported a comfortable realization of myself, I am not bitter about my journey. It is what it is.
In every life I believe there is a call to the hero’s journey, an impulse to confront some challenge that draws one out of one’s comfort zone and enter a place of confusion and danger to achieve or acquire an important goal or gift. We can either accept that call or run away.
I’ve tried both in my life.
Luckily, however, from an early age I was inspired by exceptional individuals who left a record of their struggles to unearth and embrace aspects of their humanity that they had been disconnected from by the environments or the cultures they had been brought up in. More often than not these people were artists in one medium or another. Poets, playwrights, novelists, composers, choreographers and painters all hinted at, or outright acknowledged, more about the inner world of the human condition than was mirrored, modeled or mentioned in the house, school or church where I was raised.
The artists that I stumbled upon helped me see that sadness, anger, fear as well as sexuality, love and joy were all natural and necessary feelings in the human experience.
In these works of art I found a reflection of my innermost feelings that I was largely disconnected from because the adults that I looked to in my life were doing all they could to protect themselves from the vulnerability of these emotions through addictions and defenses of one sort or another.
My first hero was Abraham Lincoln who I revered for freeing the slaves. But in the years that followed I began to see that the enslavement we were all subtly subjected to was to a picture of life painted by the frightened that relegated the vulnerabilities and aspirations of our deepest humanity to the prison of addictions, self destructiveness and personal stagnation.
That is when I began to see that artists armed with the greatest weapon, the creative impulse, were waging war against the tyranny of self deception. Of course many of these artists suffered in their and for their struggles but it did not make them any the less heroic in my eyes. They were not perfect but I began to see that imperfection was an inevitable and
intrinsic corollary to the experience of a truly human life.
I wanted to become an artist because I saw that they had a tool that would help me
unearth, they had a compass to help me navigate, they had a weapon that would help me fight, my way into my own heart.
In the years since, when I haven’t been incapacitated by depression, I have looked
to know, embrace and accept myself through the writing of songs and poetry, and the painting of pictures that come from deep within my soul.
I also have written a memoir of my own idiosyncratic journey towards healing and wholeness in the hopes that it might resonate with others that have felt equally alienated from their environment or challenged to embark on the heroe’s journey to embrace their life.
The memoir is called Forgive Myself, a title taken from a poem by William Butler Yeats calle ...more

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Bruce Morse's Blog

The Meaning of Life

Although I received many fine things for Christmas, after it was over, I still wanted more. I became obsessed with a carving from Sumatra I had seen in a nearby store. I tried to resist the powerful urge to purchase it because the money that it would cost was much more needed for practical repairs on our home. The desire would not diminish however and I found myself looking for more and more compl Read more of this blog post »

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Published on January 08, 2010 08:12 • Tags: love

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Bruce Morse’s books

Average rating: 0.0 · 0 ratings · 0 reviews · 4 distinct works

	Forgive Myself: This is the story of a boy's struggle to become a man 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2007 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	How to negotiate the labor agreement;: An outline summary of tested bargaining practice expanded from earlier editions 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	How to negotiate the labor agreement: An outline summary of tested bargaining practice expanded from earlier editions 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	How to negotiate the labor agreement;: An outline summary of tested bargaining practice expanded from earlier editions 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Bruce’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-12) post a comment »

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message 12: by Jerome

Apr 30, 2010 07:34AM

So what's up Bruce? No goodreads goin' on man?

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message 11: by Lincoln

Apr 16, 2009 01:06PM

Hi Bruce!

I don't get to Goodreads nearly as often as I'd like because I'm writing my 4th book. So, I wanted to make sure and stop by and let you know that I am thrilled to be your friend here! Are you on twitter? My twitter name is: linc0lnpark

Have a fantastic day!

-L-

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message 10: by Bruce

Jan 13, 2009 03:28PM

Thanks for your friendship Lisette. Best to you, Bruce

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message 9: by Lisette

Jan 13, 2009 01:51PM

Hi Bruce:

Thanks for the invitation. I like the title of your book immensely -- I relate to it so well. Enjoyed reading your profile. Best wishes.

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message 8: by Brigid ✩

Aug 30, 2008 07:55AM

hi! thanx for adding me. ;D

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message 7: by Carrie

Aug 14, 2008 11:39PM

Hi Bruce

Good morning!

I was supposed to send this message with your invitation....yes well....ok, so I am not so good with computer skills (which is pretty evident)....so here it is!

Greetings from England!

I am sorry I have been so busy on promotions and rarely get the pleasure to indulge myself on this site but I just wanted to invite you personally to listen to the BBC, who invited both myself and 8 Joni-Pip avids to appear on their show Go4it!

It's probably impossible to listen to the BBC in your neck of the woods but I wanted to invite you anyway.

I hope all is going spiffingly with you!

Carrie

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message 6: by Anny

Aug 05, 2008 07:55AM

Hi Bruce,
try this link:
http://www.moriapoetry.com/ballopen.pdf
there are several pages and you might have to wait if your connection is slow. Otherwise I have other works online if you google my name.
Let me know and take care, anny

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message 5: by Michele

Jul 21, 2008 05:29PM