Milton H Erickson - A healer, wizard, poet, scientist, and bard. Trained as a psychologist and psychiatrist, he offered a unique perspective on living, teaching, and working.
Erickson had an understanding of the human psyche that went much beyond the traditional medical system. He was not prescriptive with his patients, he didn't come in with a fixed toolkit or framework. He was creative in pushing individuals beyond their conventional beliefs. Emphasizing that his words were not to be taken as "The Gospel". He wanted to urge the individual to explore themselves on the fringe.
For another to try and copy him by reading or repeating his metaphors and stories would miss the point. His work was closer to that of a modern-day Zen master than a psychiatrist. But he formalized his work and penned it down along with the help of his contemporaries.
He wanted the individual to creatively construct and wonder. To turn their attention inward and allow their subconscious to take form. Towards the forces behind the egoic mind. He wanted to show his clients that they already had the answers which he was only helping them find.
It all started with his own life. His childhood was plagued with disabilities (Color blindness, Tone Deafness, Polio) which he called "terrific advantages". He said that life’s difficulties were merely necessary roughage. They taught him how to observe and to understand how people learn.
Through his own experiences, he knew that the mind and subconscious are much more powerful than we imagine.