Jungian Themes

The role of problems in the individuation process

I have been a student of Jungian psychology for two decades. My field of study, in addition to Jung’s primary texts, the Collected Works, included other pioneers of depth psychology: Freud, of course, Adler, Lacan, Klein and Fordham, among others. I have also studied a vast amount of the secondary literature. I have during that time, in the spirit imparted to me by my first Jungian mentor, Châtillon Coque, actively applied the Jungian principles or theoria[1], in the pursuit of [...]

December 3, 2018
By Individuation, Jungian Themes, problems10 Comments
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Love me, so that I can love myself: A Western identity crisis

I recently watched a thought provoking TED Talk by Yann Dall’Aglio, a French philosopher. His talk was about the current Western approach to love. There is no doubt that we all want to be loved, not only romantically, but also by family, friends and peers. Yann makes compelling observations about the way this “desire to be loved” has impacted on modern Western society, and that it is not necessarily in a positive way; in fact he reveals a rather disturbing [...]

May 22, 2018
By Individuation, Jungian, Jungian Themes, Living Meaningfully, Uncategorized9 Comments
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The rainmaker and the dream of drought

Jung was fond of telling a story of a drought being broken in a village in China by a Taoist rainmaker.[1] I share the story and some further thoughts on it in the light of the current drought and impending day zero in the Cape. There was a great drought where [Richard] Wilhelm lived; for months there had not been a drop of rain and the situation became catastrophic. The Catholics made processions, the Protestants made prayers, and the Chinese burned [...]

January 29, 2018
By Collective Unconscious, Dream Work, Jungian Themes, Myth, , 35 Comments
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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 [...]

June 22, 2017
By Individuation, Jungian, Jungian Themes18 Comments
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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, resulting [...]

May 7, 2017
By Individuation, Jungian Themes, Self, Uncategorized22 Comments
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Have you swallowed another’s shadow?

Have you ever met one of those couples, where the one is just perfect and fantastic and their partner is a walking disaster? One is incompetent, inappropriate, a total bitch or bastard, etc. Yet their partner is charismatic, socially skilled, an all round good person. And you think to yourself what on earth is he doing with her (or vice versa). Whilst I was doing research on Persona, I came across a story told by Jung which illustrates this very [...]

March 13, 2017
By Jungian Themes, Shadow, , , , 13 Comments
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The Body and the Blood

When I was a kid, for as long as I can remember, every Friday night, we would go to my grandmother’s house for a family supper. As my mother and one of my aunts were fond of saying, “Every road leads to Mayfair,” the suburb my grandmother’s home was located.  We would go there for what I can only describe as a feast. My grandmother, God rest her soul, would prepare a feast for us every single week, without fail. [...]

September 11, 2016
By Jungian Themes, Living Meaningfully, Symbols, , , , , 3 Comments
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Forgiving another, what it really means.

I have just returned from another fantastic international study trip with Dr. Leslee Brown, exploring Existential Analysis in Vienna. Leslee sources experts in various psychodynamic disciplines and puts together amazing learning opportunities for both professionals (these courses are accredited) and anyone who is interested in these topics. Her next tour is in July 2016, this time in Argentina, and explores Lacan and Tango therapy. Follow this link for more information on this fantastic opportunity. The Existential Summit I attended was in Vienna and [...]

June 9, 2016
By Jungian Themes, , , , , , , 5 Comments
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The Spectre of the “Other” in Jungian Psychology

The Spectre of the “Other” in Jungian Psychology 2017 Conference on Jungian Psychology International Conference of the International Association for Jungian Studies www.jungstudies.net August 3rd – 6th, 2017 Cape Town, South Africa   Call for Papers   “I do not know what Africa is really saying to me, but it speaks.” (Jung in a letter to Emma in Memories, Dreams, Reflections) We invite you to participate in a gathering of academics, analysts, students and others interested in exploring a Jungian conceptualization of Otherness, and how such ideas interface with [...]

June 8, 2016
By Jungian Themes2 Comments
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An Alchemists’ Lair

Arriving at Bollingen Tower. I am not an intrepid traveler. I am rather attached to my comforts and routines and usually overwhelmed by the airports and stations and luggage and people and shops. So it was with great trepidation that I set off to Zurich to attend the C.G. Jung Institute Winter Intensive, 2016. I traveled with a group organised by Dr. Leslee Brown that included accommodation and outings. This really worked for me, since I usually hide out in [...]

March 7, 2016
By Jungian Themes, Symbols, , , , 0 Comments
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