A Brief Autobiography

I was born in San Antonio, Texas, the son of Arthur and Dorothy Kreger. My father was an insurance salesman, and I was the youngest of 3 children. I have two older brothers, Robert and Phillip. In high school, I was active in the drama department, I studied film and broadcasting, I was an avid photographer and athlete, and was on the high school golf team. Tragically, during my teenage years, both of my parents died in unrelated illnesses.

 

Education

 

As a graduating high school senior, I wanted to study film and I was accepted to several different universities, including University of Texas at San Antonio, University of Colorado, and University of Southern California. I chose USC because of their outstanding film school, but because tuition was so high, on the advice of a counselor at USC, I decided to go to community college for the first two years then transfer to USC. But, things are never the way you plan them, and I never did go to USC or study film. Instead, I went to community college and eventually studied art at Pasadena City College and completed my AA in 1981. I then attended California State University, Long Beach, and graduated with a major in Industrial Design in 1984. 

 

After working for several years in the design field, I decided to change my career path. I studied humanistic psychology and family systems theory at Alliant International University in San Diego, and completed my M.A. in 1989. I then attended the Wright Institute in Berkeley, studying clinical psychology with a focus on psychodynamic theory and Jungian psychology. I completed my Ph.D. in 1996. My dissertation was an exploration of the nexus of ecopsychology and ecofeminism variables, with the goal of developing clinical applications from them.

 

Career

 

I began my career in 1984 as an industrial designer. At first, I designed packaging for the electronics and other industries. I then started my own design firm, designing consumer products and packaging for the cycling and toy industries. My firm also developed advertising, point of purchase displays, and trade show exhibits for international markets. Though successful, I was concerned about the impact of manufacturing on the environment and the overemphasis on technology in our society. So, after a few years, I returned to graduate school to study psychology. I attended classes full-time while continuing to run my design firm, until I completed my master’s degree.

 

After completing my M.A., I began studying for my doctorate in Berkeley. I worked my way through grad school, working in the mental health field. I completed my clinical internship at King-Drew Medical Center, in Los Angeles. After graduating, I completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Laguna Honda Hospital, in San Francisco, specializing in clinical neuropsychology, rehabilitation psychology, and behavioral medicine.

 

Early on, I had also worked in academia. While still in graduate school, I worked part time for ProHealth, in San Francisco, a division of Foote Cone and Belding. I was part of a team helping to produce continuing medical education conferences and workshops, as well as journal supplements. Upon graduating, I was hired as the Director of Development for the Institute for Behavioral Healthcare, in Portola Valley, California, producing continuing education workshops in the mental health field. Years later, I founded the MacLauren Institute, producing online continuing education classes for mental health professionals.   

 

My clinical career was fairly straight forward. In 1999, I became a program director at the Child & Family Guidance Center, in Northridge, California. In 2001, having a background in neuropsychology and behavioral medicine, I joined the psychiatric practice of Thomas Curtis, M.D., in Los Angeles, specializing in workers' compensation cases.  In 2006, I began my own practice, High Desert Counseling, in Lancaster, California, and I also began seeing clients at Desert Behavioral Health, Apple Valley, California, where I practiced for the next 14 years. In 2011, I became a Diplomate of Behavioral Medicine by the International Academy of Behavioral Medicine, Counseling and Psychotherapy. 

 

And, it was at this time that I also began applying my abilities as a psychologist to the interdisciplinary study of archaeology and anthropology. I had long been an amateur archaeologist, since my first trip to Guatemala as a college freshman, studying the ancient Mayan sites there. Since then, I’d visited archaeological sites in 17 countries around the world. But, a turning point came when I had discovered how archaeologists David Lewis-Williams and Thomas Dowson had used neuropsychology to help them decipher the meaning of prehistoric petroglyphs in Africa. I had post-doctoral training in neuropsychology, so I sought to advance that research by using neuropsychology and also applying Jungian theory to the understanding of ancient petroglyphs of the Southwest. In 2010, I presented a poster presentation of my research at the annual meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) and it was very well received. Since then, I have continued that and other similar research projects and made several other presentations at AIA, and published my findings.

 

About this same time, I also began my writing career, eventually founding a publishing company, Windham Everitt Publishing Company. Though I had published articles and presented my research at conferences, it was not until 2011 that I published my first book, The Secret Tao. My first book was on the history of Taoism and it included archaeological research into early Taoist beliefs and the people who practiced it. And, I have published 5 other books since then, addressing topics in the fields of history, archaeology, and ancient spirituality. My most recent book, The Wheel of Time: Origin of the Holy Days, is an exploration of the origins of our modern holidays, and how many if not most of them can be traced back to ancient paganism.

 

In 2020, I was hired as clinical psychologist at Loma Linda Psychiatric Medical Group. And, I currently divide my time between my clinical work, research, and writing.  

 

Personal Life

 

While I was working at Child & Family Guidance Center, in Northridge, California, I met a coworker who would become my wife, Jamielly Patacsil Kreger, an educational specialist. Now, over 20 years later, I am still happily married and we have one son. For many years, a hobby of mine has been making homemade wine from grapes grown in the vineyard, on our property. Finally, in 2018, my wife and I started our own winery, Domäne Kreger Vineyards, in Lancaster, California. We specialize in dry red wines, and we also make an estate port from our original vineyard.

 

Publications

 

I’m the author of various articles published in scientific journals, newspapers and magazines, as well as several non-fiction books:

 

  • Kreger, D. W. (2011). The Secret Tao: Uncovering the Hidden History and Meaning of Lao Tzu. ISBN 978-098330990-1.

  • Kreger, D. W. (2012). 2012 & The Mayan Prophecy of Doom. ISBN 978-0983309918.

  • Kreger, D. W. (2012).  The Tao of Yoda: Based Upon the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu. ISBN 978-098330992-5.

  • Kreger, D. W. (2014). The Einstein Connection: Ancient Myths & Scientific Theories of an Approaching Global Cataclysm. ISBN 978-098330993-2.

  • Kreger, D. W. (2018). Lewd: The Secret History of English Dirty Words. ISBN 978-098330994-9.

  • Kreger, D. W. (2020). The Wheel of Time: Origin of the Holy Days. ISBN 978-098330995-6.

 

In 2020, Lewd was a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Book Award for non-fiction.

 

Current and Future Projects

 

What’s next? I have several different projects that I am interested in. First, many people  keep asking me to write a sequel to my book: The Tao of Yoda, which is just a translation of the Tao Te Ching, except that where the original says "Tao" I replace it with "the Force", and where the original says "holy-man", I replace it with "Jedi". The result was an uncanny fit. It sounds like an ancient book of Jedi wisdom. The problem was that I only included the verses, and no explanation of it. I would like to go back and explain all the similarities and parallels between the "force" and Taoism, which explains why the Tao of Yoda works so well. 

Secondly, though I am a clinical psychologist, in all my writing I’ve never done a self-help book, though many of friends and colleagues have suggested that I should. My research interests have been more focused on history and archaeology. But, after being a therapist for more than 30 years, there are certain observations that I’ve made about relationships that I think may be of value to couples. I have a unique perspective, having also studied Taoism for many years. I believe that the ancient wisdom of Lao Tzu could actually help many couples nowadays to have a happier and longer lasting marriage. I also see parallels between early Taoism and some concepts in feminism, which would also be helpful.  

 

So much of my writing has been about the distant past, but another project that interests me has more to do with current events. For years now, I have been thinking of doing a book on the psychology of partisan politics, which I find fascinating. This seems especially relevant after the bitter partisan divide in last few years. It seems that, nowadays, people on the left and right don’t even live in the same reality.  

 

Lastly, I have also been tempted to write my memoirs. The above biographical sketch does not begin to describe the many and varied experiences that I’ve had, traveling around the world over the last four decades. And, among them, I’ve had some really weird experiences that one can only describe as paranormal, and I’d love to write about them, though I doubt that anyone would believe me. 

Conclusion

I’m sure that I’m leaving out a lot. As a writer, I have written about more than my academic research; I have written a lot about wine and the wine industry, including the history of wine in the Napa Valley. I’ve also written several screenplays, and helped to collaborate on other film projects. Meanwhile, I’m continuing my clinical practice, running my publishing company, the vineyard and winery, and being a husband and father. And, that’s enough for now.