Explore the Archives
In response to requests for more Option Method resources, we have opened up the Bruce Di Marsico archives. He taught many courses to students over the years, primarily in a small-group format.
Although there is no charge to access the archives, we welcome donations to help fund the preservation and release of the Bruce Di Marsico archival material.
This site is a companion site to the forthcoming books, Collected Works of Bruce Di Marsico. A basic and comprehensive survey of selections from the books is available here on the website.
Two good places to start are the introductory audio series and introductory writings.
The most introductory materials are two CDs available in the store: “Bruce Di Marsico Presents the Option Method” (most introductory) and “Is Happiness a Choice?”
Collected Works of Bruce Di Marsico: Table of Contents
Below is the table of contents of the forthcoming book, “Collected Works of Bruce Di Marsico”. Select a category on the right to see writings available on the web under each heading.
Introduction
Introduction
An Overview of the Option Method
An Introduction to the Option Method
An Introduction to Option
The Wisdom of Happiness
The Creation of the Option Method
The Option Method Attitude
How Emotions Happen
Stimulus-Organism-Response
Only beliefs cause emotions
All Emotions come from Judgments
Needing and Wanting
The Nature of Choice
The most significant belief
Exploring some specific emotions
Our Response as the Event
The cause of unhappiness is in the future
The choice of emotions
An Introduction to Happiness
Feeling however you choose to feel
This is Happiness
One Truth
Personal Happiness
Obstacles to Happiness?
Introduction to Unhappiness
The Cause of Unhappiness
Unhappiness is believing that you are against yourself
What Causes Unhappiness?
Proof We are "Bad"
Are You Good? Are All Things Good?
Acting Unhappy
Pretending to be unhappy
Functional Unhappiness
Common Descriptions of Unhappiness
“Needs”
“Wrong”
The Essential Characteristics of Emotional Events
Happiness, and Others
To Love Is To Be Happy And Do What You Want
On Fervor
Option as Therapy
To Have Happiness Nothing Is Necessary
The Option Method in comparison to other therapies
A Critique of Therapies (commentary)
The Option Attitude, Philosophy, and Method (commentary)
The Right to Be Happy
Myths of the “Ideal” Way of Being
Elevating Taste to Morals (commentary)
The Myth of Mental Illness
The Medical Model of Mental Illness
On perfectionism
On moral codes
The only kind of happiness is personal happiness
Happiness
What Is Happiness
Defining Happiness
About Happiness
No thing gives happiness
Your unhappiness is caused by a belief
Degrees of Happiness
Facets of Happiness
Perfect Self-Trust
Happiness is feeling however you choose
Myths of Happiness
Happiness is not a mood (commentary)
Happiness is not fulfilling a cultural value (commentary)
Motivation
Motivation is the cause of movement
Happiness is our ultimate desire
More Happy vs Less Unhappy
Happy Motivation
Intermediate Steps
Expressions of Happiness
Gratitude
Doubts, Signs and Rituals
Unhappiness
What is Unhappiness
Defining Unhappiness
All unhappiness is a matter of belief
Being kind to yourself
Unhappiness is for future happiness
The Myth of Unhappiness
Nothing is “Good” or “Bad” for happiness
Myths of Unhappiness
The Cause of Unhappiness
There is no cause of unhappiness
Unhappiness as a Motivator
More about how Unhappiness Happens
“Shoulds” have no value
All “shoulds” are beliefs
Happiness is Freedom
On Owing and Debts, and Freedom,
Forgiveness and Gifts
Facets of Unhappiness
Supposed to Be
“There’s Something Wrong with You”
Believing you should not have been who you are
Not Caring, and Freedom
You are the authority on you
Not Believing Yourself (commentary)
Fearing Unhappiness
Fearing unhappiness, is unhappiness
Being Self-Defeating
Happiness won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do
Unhappiness Is Not Wrong
Nothing need be done about unhappiness
To be happy, know this
You can’t make yourself happy
The Experience of Unhappiness (commentary)
Unhappiness Doesn’t Exist
Summary: Unhappiness Doesn’t Exist
No one is actually unhappy
You are not unhappy for any reason
If You Seem Unhappy, You can Know You are Not
Unhappiness Doesn’t Exist
Unhappiness doesn’t exist (commentary)
Real unhappiness could never exist without your consent
Feelings, Beliefs, and Desires
Introduction to Beliefs
The Body
Words and Attitudes
Beliefs are not a problem
You do your own believing
Testing Beliefs
Time, and the Truth of Beliefs
Beliefs, Feelings, Truth (commentary)
Believing as a Biological Reality
Desire and Cause
Introduction to Desires
Boredom
Attraction
Wanting the Whole Package
Wanting is more important that getting
Staying in touch with what we want more
Desires and Wanting
How Emotions Happen
Our Role in Emotions
Option Method Scientific Behavioral Model
Emotional Dynamics Scientific Model
Comparison
Unhappy concepts
Stimulus-Belief-Response
Nothing can make you unhappy
What is the Option Method?
How unhappiness happens
The perceived locus of unhappiness
How we create emotions
Comparative Consistency
Prerequisite Preparation
Children are Self-Created (commentary)
Symptoms vs Emotions (commentary)
What Moves Us
Motivation from Happiness
Wanting is Sufficient
Your Wanting
Believing that unhappiness is necessary to motivate ourselves
Wanting to be unhappy to the right degree
Wanting vs Needing
Not knowing what you want
Motivation from Unhappiness
Why we use unhappiness
Negative Judgments are not necessary
“Negative” Emotions (commentary)
The only thing to know is what we want
Wanting, Doing, and Knowing
Staying in Touch with Wanting
Staying in touch with Wanting
People are always doing what they want (commentary)
What do I want most?
Not Knowing Wants
When someone says they do not know what they want
Fear of Not Knowing Wanting
Where Wanting Comes From
Your Wanting is a Favor to God
Not believing yourself
Forming and Changing Desires
Attraction
What is Interesting?
Fear of our changing desires
Happy, and wanting change
Persisting
Beliefs are known as the truth
Trying and Doing
Trying
Happiness is the most effective ground for doing
What I can do
When You Don’t Know What to Do
Doing as a sign of self
Knowing
Knowing
Believing and Knowing
Knowing more
Relationships
Relationships, Love, Sex, and Happiness
A Review of Happiness
The only kind of happiness is personal happiness
My Wanting is what I intend to have or do or be
The Fundamental Insight of the Option Method
Love
Forms of Love
Happiness in Relationships
On Loving
Loving has nothing to do with happiness
Loving, and wanting to love
Intimacy
You want to see my love
Commitment
There is no doubt about it for me
If you loved me, you would…
On Solitude And Close Relationships
General Relationships
I can want you to want something
Asking and Giving
When two people have the same experience
Fearing the attitudes of others
What I do, alone, is my doing alone
Enjoying differences
On Being Special
Believing Yourself
Believing we need help to be happy
Self-Creation
Choice
People Choose Their Beliefs, Every
Belief
Fear of Unhappiness
Being Allowed
All people are allowed to happy at all times
Allowed To Be
Your Feelings
You Don’t Want To Feel Bad
A Simple Option Method
Forms of Unhappiness
Unhappy Motivation
The names of unhappiness
Flavors of Unhappiness
Fear itself is often worse that what is feared
Fear
Guilt
On Anxiety
Despair
The Basis for Shame
Fear and Unhappiness (Sadness and Anger)
Joy, Peace, Mania, Depression
Paranoia and Hysteria
Why aren’t you perfectly happy already?
What is Depression?
Being Appreciated
Safety and Boredom
Mistaken for Unhappiness
Unhappiness is not a physical feeling
Pain and unhappiness
Pain
Psychological Hypochondriacs
Physical Symptoms
Arguments against Unhappiness
Arguments against happiness
Being too happy
Too good to be true?
Unhappiness is “But”
Nature vs Belief
Happiness and Safety
Fearing that we could turn away from
happiness
Behavior
Changing Behavior
“I did it again”
From Now On
Considering Work
Everyday Myths
Common Myths
Mistakes
Importance
You have no rights
The Great Myths
Self
The meaning of life
You are your happiness (commentary)
The Will
Free Will
The Mind
There is nothing hidden within us
The Kernel and the Husk
Option Ontology
The World
The Purpose of the World is Your Happiness
The World is You (commentary)
Time
The Two Nows
The Experiential Now and the Intentional Now
Hesitating To Say Yes
Time and Feelings
Sex
Sex Doesn’t Exist
Sex
Life, Health, and Death
Happiness and Health
The Option View of Death
The “problem” of death
Life and Death
Happiness without reason
There is nothing to believe
Nothing Prevents Happiness
There are no obstacles to perfect happiness
There is no reason to be unhappy
There is no need to understand yourself
There are no reasons for happiness
Happiness is not the result of having good things
No Beliefs are Necessary
What Happiness Does
Justifying your wants
Perfect Happiness
You can be happy now and at all times
Realizing perfect happiness
We can be happy because we want to
Enjoying your happiness
The Enjoyment of Happiness
Being Happy Now
Enjoying Your Freedom
Miracles and Happiness
Everything is Good
Are you good? Are all things good?
Practical Enjoyment
I am not the cause of your happiness
Being in Society
There are no emotional problems
On Being Private
Trusting your learning
Music Moves
You are your happiness
The Two Principles
Perfect happiness moves you
There’s nothing wrong with you
What is Happening?
A New World
The future
Wait, watch, and enjoy what happens in you and around you
Happiness opens up a New World
Perfect Freedom
The Freedom not to Change
Doing Nothing
The Experience of Happiness
On Quiet
Peace and Joy
Gladness
Being Grateful without Reasons
Emotions are happiness (commentary)
Option Mysticism
On God
Option Theology
Ancient Wisdom
Option Mysticism
Option Mysticism and Tradition (commentary)
God’s Prayer to Man
I Am Your God
Contemplation is Joy
Practicing the Option Method
Learning the Practice of The Option Method
How to Do the Option Method
The Practice of Option
The Option Method Questions
Introduction to the Questions
The Attitude behind the Questions (commentary)
Dialogue Model
Variants of the Option Questions
The Goal of the Guide
Exploring “I Don’t Know”
There are no Option Statements
Applying the Option Method
I am not the cause
The Best Way to Help
The Client is the Expert
Everyone does not in practice want happiness
Option As Therapy
The Four Attitudes
Guidance in Questioning
Using the Option Method With Others
Applying the Option Method Personally
Using the Option Method with Yourself
Stories and Meditations
Stories
Going off to College
Holding your Breath
Genesis
The Troubadour
The Man who found Diamonds
Meditations
The Absolute Truth is Simple
Cor Super Ratio
Appendix I: A Summary of the Option
Attitude and Philosophy
Appendix II: A Brief Compendium of the Option Method
Index