Influential educator, psychologist, adventurer and critical thinker — Determinedly serving the general public and mental health field for over 40 years

Ofer's Life Story: Meaning, Oomph & Adventure

Dr. Ofer Zur is known as a zesty explorer. He approaches his professional, personal, and communal life with fearless relish and adventure.

His forward-charging philosophy and critical thinking have led him to break new grounds in psychology, and adventure fearlessly around the world. He launched into adulthood as a military officer & paratrooper in Israel, and went on to savor life as an oceanographer & deep sea diver, safari driver, sailor, aspiring anthropologist, psychologist, ethicist, family-community man, forensic expert, and critical thinker. In all these fields he has chosen the paths less travelled, in which he bravely crossed psychological, moral, and physical terrains.

Dr. Zur grew up in Israel, left Israel for moral reasons and has lived most of his life in California. His travels have taken him to visit, and live, in Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, South Africa, India, Jordan, England, France, Holland, Singapore, Malasia, China, Brazil, Mexico, and Panama (among others). In pursuit of the ultimate physical/spiritual experiences, he summited Mt. Kilimanjaro, drove motorcycles with his sons in both the Himalayas and the Israeli desert, encountered piranhas in an Amazon River, backpacked on the Alaskan glaciers, sailed the Mediterranean, Red Sea, Atlantic & Pacific oceans, Panama Canal and others.

His many near-death medical, military, and spiritual 'adventures' have taught him profound lessons. Beginning with being severely burned by a phosphorous grenade at age 10, being seconds away from being crushed to death by a rageful rock-throwing crowd surge of kids in a refugee camp, losing his calf in a ferocious battle in the 1973 war, diving the spectacular and deadly Blue Hole (AKA, 'Diver's Cemetery') in the Red Sea, going through a traumatic 'hysterical blindness' (conversion disorder) in Africa, experiencing a cardiac arrest (flat-lined) for 92 seconds, and the list goes on... As a lieutenant-paratrooper he has had his share of witnessing death and killing in battle.

He has braved injustices in the world employing fearless and controversial critical thinking, while 'politically incorrectly' critically examining the psychology of war, victimhood, love/intimacy, and relentlessly exploring dying with dignity.

Pictorial Bio