In 1952, Dr. Hora established private practices in New York City and in
Bedford Village, New York. For the next fifteen years, he was active in professional
psychiatric circles in the U.S. and in Europe, and was invited to deliver over forty
lectures and to submit an equal number of articles for publication in medical journals. In
1958, in recognition of his highly original contributions to his field, he received the
Karen Horney Award for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis.
However, at about this time, Dr. Hora was inspired to look beyond the
conventional medical practices he had earlier embraced, in order to explore alternative
solutions to the pain and suffering experienced in the human condition. Having observed,
first-hand, that orthodox forms of treatment did not always bring healing to the ills of
mankind, he sought to obtain a deeper understanding of the issues which, in turn, led him
to spiritual literature. From this point, until the birth of Metapsychiatry in 1977, Dr.
Hora's spiritual quest was in full bloom. His search encompassed the study of various
theosophies, of existentialism and phenomenology, and of the sacred texts of Zen, Taoism,
Buddhism, Judaism and Christianity. In addition to contemplating the literature of the
world's great religions, Dr. Hora also read and assimilated the elevated works of many
individuals, such as Plato, Dante, Shakespeare, Martin Heidegger, Carl Jung, Edmund
Husserl, Teilhard de Chardin, Kierkegaard, James Legge, D. T. Suzuki, Krishnamurti, Mary
Baker Eddy, Joel Goldsmith and Martin Buber. Dr. Hora also met with Carl Jung, Alan Watts
and a Zen master to ask questions and gain insights, all of which contributed to the
brilliance and clarity with which he finally brought Metapsychiatry into being. In his
comprehensive studies, Dr. Hora attained a profound spiritual understanding of the healing
work and teachings of Jesus, and these illumined teachings became a cornerstone of the
Metapsychiatric discipline.
By 1967, Dr. Hora, a seminal thinker, and a pioneer researcher of
consciousness, had transcended the practice of traditional methods of psychiatry, having
come to see that there can be no healing without God. In his own words: "All problems
are psychological, and all solutions are spiritual." Essentially, he became a
"physician of the soul," increasingly interested in guiding individuals to a
spiritually centered and abundant life through which wholeness could be realized. Dr. Hora
withdrew from participation in professional societies and focused all of his time and
attention on responding to those who came to him with their suffering. His appeal was
broad. He drew students of all faiths and backgrounds from throughout the world, many of
whom grew sufficiently in understanding to be redeemed and liberated, leaving their
"patient" status behind them to become authentic seekers in search of higher
levels of spiritual wisdom. Some of these individuals have gone on to become
spiritually-oriented counselors and teachers, in addition to those counselors and
therapists whom he had already trained or whose work he had supervised. Others continued
to study with him for fifteen to twenty years or more, remaining with him long after
experiencing healing and an improved over-all well-being, in order to allow this, by now,
enlightened master to guide them further along the spiritual path. Thomas Hora described
the revelatory nature of Metapsychiatry in the following way:
"Metapsychiatry is a gift of God to our time. We have built a new
road which is neither religious, nor materially scientific, nor political. We have come to
understand it as an epistemological method of truth realization. Metapsychiatry came into
the world to put soul into psychiatry and to breathe the life of Spirit into the 'valley
of dry bones.'"
Dr. Hora was actively engaged in his work as a spiritual guide and was
teaching classes until shortly before his passing, which occurred on October 30, 1995. He
left a legacy of four books, twelve booklets (short essays on specific topics) and many
class and conference tapes, as well as many grateful students whose quality of life has
been transformed through their work in Metapsychiatry. Dr. Hora's private counseling
sessions and spiritual classes were infused with inspiring wisdom, extraordinary clarity,
with compassion and laughter. It was Thomas Hora's sincere desire that what he had learned
about the dynamic of illness and health, about the real nature of our difficulties and
problems, our anxieties and fears, and about what constitutes healing and wholeness, would
be a blessing to the lives of those who are receptive to this spiritual method.
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