Individuation Archives - Page 2 of 4

The Grand Promise of Transformation

transfəˈmeɪʃ(ə)n, noun, a marked change in form, nature, or appearance. There is a major paradox in the personal growth movement. A critical fault line running down its centre. We are sold and often tempted by promises of transformation, but, critically, what we most want is to be authentic. Do you want to transform? If you do, it is worth thinking about what you trying to change. Your nature? Who you are? How you live in this world? Do you want to be better? Do you desire to change somehow to fit...

June 22, 2017

By Anja van KralingenIndividuation, Jungian, Jungian Themes21 Comments

A short course in Wrestling an Angel

The mistake is to think of angels as cherubs. They’re not. That was just the romantic imagination of renaissance art. A more accurate perspective of the angel, at least psychologically, is provided by the Old Testament story of Jacob, who wrestled with the Angel of the Lord. To put it plainly, the angel fucked him up. He escaped with his life intact, no mean feat after seeing the face of God[1], but, not without suffering a dislocated hip,...

May 7, 2017

By Stephen FarahIndividuation, Jungian Themes, Self, Uncategorized23 Comments

Spirit or soul? A New Age movement critique.

I recently signed up with my Alma Mater to do a module called Contemporary Spirituality. The main concept that emerged for me is that the New Age movement is capturing the market of modern individuals attempting to connect with the transcendent. This essay is a critical look at the New Age Movement and its influence and effect on Modern Spirituality. I also explore the difference between soul and spirit and the modern attitude towards both. The attitude towards spirituality and soul in western...

August 25, 2016

By Anja van KralingenAnima and Animus, Individuation, Uncategorizedindividuation, new age, soul, spiritual, spirituality8 Comments

Individuation, Jung’s 2nd Personality, and the Freak

Consider for a moment the utterly and overwhelmingly absurd nature of our existence. We send our children to school to learn what? Their capacities or their limitations? What they are capable of or incapable of? I would argue the latter. Here I think one must agree with Freud’s very astute analysis of the human condition that psychic castration is an essential developmental stage. Without the recognition of our limitations we become monsters. One has only to encounter a precocious teenager and...

December 12, 2015

By Stephen FarahIndividuation, Jungian Themesindividuation, jungian perspective, the Freak, the second personality13 Comments

Memories, Dreams, (and) Reflections of Stephen Anthony Farah

With apologies to C. G. Jung Some general context What follows is an attempt to synthesise and make meaning from my very own Jungian journey of the last fifteen years. Besides borrowing the title from Jung’s biography Memories, Dreams, Reflections, I follow in the footsteps of two of my students, Tasha Tollman and Linda Hawkins, who have previously written pieces along these lines for publication on this site. I am not into the white washing or spin doctor style of...

July 20, 2015

By Stephen FarahIndividuation, Jungian Themes, Narrative Analysis, PersonallyJung, jungian perspective, Living meaningfully, myth, narrative27 Comments

When there is no judgement, what is alive in you?

The multi-award winning documentary, Ensoulment, created and directed by Loris Simón Salum, explores the feminine principle in present day Western society. It is a journey in search of meaning, belonging and the path back to the authentic self. Watching the documentary, I was content, dare I even say happy with my life and completely unprepared for a question so powerful, that it hit me between my solar plexus and left me breathless. A question that filled me with excitement...

May 19, 2015

By Anja van KralingenIndividuation, Jungian Themesfilm, freedom, individuation, Living meaningfully5 Comments

Dr Seuss Inspired Guide to Applied Jung

The life work of Carl Gustav Jung has inspired me for so many years to a life of adventure, a call to the hero’s journey and the discovery of the depths and treasures of my psyche. This exciting journey has been made possible by the wonderful teaching of my friend Stephen Farah at The Centre of Applied Jungian Studies, who strives every day to make Jung’s work accessible to all and to find practical application for Jung’s work in our...

March 5, 2015

By Anja van KralingenIndividuation, Jungian Themes4 Comments

Did mommy & daddy neglect to mention that you are a freak?

Yes I am afraid it is quite true, you are a freak. This short communication should remove any lingering doubts you may have and dash any hope that you are not a freak. Let me spell it out for you, to avoid any unintended ambiguity. You are not a normal, well adjusted, respectable member of society. You are not a pillar of the community, someone to whom others should look as an example to model themselves on. You are...

December 2, 2014

By Stephen FarahIndividuation, Jungian Themes, Shadowchoice, freak, individuation, meaning, narrative3 Comments

Midway in life’s journey, I found myself in a dark wood, having lost my way.

This is a guest post by Tasha Tollman. In the space of a few years I lost my father, I lost my business, I lost my financial freedom, I lost my passion for life. And in this my darkest hour I lost even my faith in God. The life that I had worked so hard to create disappeared and I slipped deeper and deeper into the dark night of the soul. Every day presented a new crisis, everything I touched turned...

November 23, 2014

By Anja van KralingenIndividuation, Jungian Themesdestiny, individuation, Jung, meaning, midlife crisis, myth19 Comments

Living Courageously: a guide for the coward

When I was a kid goddamn I was scared of a lot of shit. I remember one of my best friends in primary school, Ronald[1], and I developed this fantasy that one day we would run away from home together. We were around 11 or 12 years old at the time. Being of a pragmatic nature and knowing that we would need to “live off the land” I advised Ronald that we should pack a lot of spices...

November 6, 2014

By Stephen FarahIndividuation, Jungian Themescourage, individuation, Jungian, narrative16 Comments