What is freedom for you? In this world it seems freedom is something that is slowly disappearing. This is a radical statement isn’t it, but I ask for a bit of time to explain what I mean. I watched an interview of Yeonmi Park, a North Korean who escaped and settled in America. She recalls how she was confronted by choices in the West. What is your favourite colour? Red of course, everyone in North Korea’s favourite colour is red. What happens when...
Individuation is the principal psychological and ethical imperative of Jungian psychology, and, in this respect, it goes well beyond a narrow clinical or pathological application. Although Jung was a psychiatrist, his research and work as a physician of the soul goes well beyond the crucible of analytical practice. Concern for the soul of the subject does not stop at dealing with mental disease or facilitating normal functional adaptation of the subject to the world. Whilst addressing the pandemic of mental...
modern (wo)man in search of soul in the wasteland of meaningEpigraph: In 2006 I had occasion to spend Diwali in Mauritius with my then sister-in-law, Joanne Farah. One of the celebrants at the hotel where we were staying was offering Henna tattoos to the guests. I asked for the word ‘spirit’ to be tattooed on my arm. When my sister-in-law, seemingly bemused, inquired as to what exactly I considered ‘spirit’ to be, I was unable or possibly unwilling to answer....
Secrets or inhibited emotions, analogous to repressed sins that lead to neuroses, must be confessed to enable the patient to regain his wholeness.[1] As you stand on the threshold of a new year[2] there exists, at least symbolically, the opportunity for renewal. A renewal of desires and ideals. An opportunity, modest as it may be, to reimagine yourself. To put this in the Jungian lexicon, an opportunity for soul retrieval. A fancy way of saying, a chance...
This article relays a conversation I had with Artemis. I shared our thoughts with my daughter who insisted that I write about it. I met Artemis years ago when she attended one of our courses. She contacted me a few months ago to ask me to support her through her divorce. We have had many conversations since her separation. As with anyone who has gone through divorce, the toughest part is to redefine yourself as a single person. Artemis felt that during...
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 and...
I travelled to Vienna during May to attend an Existential Summit on Love. Presented by the wonderful and charismatic Dr Alfried Längle, it was an insightful and deeply meaningful experience for me. I want to thank Dr. Leslee Brown for organising this very enriching experience. Existential Analysis is a very practical system with a lot of soul. The course contained soulful concepts and ideas as well as practical suggestions on how to implement these concepts in your relationship. In...
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. My...
Anja was listening to radio 702 the other day (isn't she always). Anyway, she told me about a caller to the show, who said, the problem with the youth today is that they no longer have role models. Or, if they do, their role models are less than 'ideal'. The caller went on to say that in yesteryear the ideal profession was to become a doctor or a lawyer (I would add chartered accountant to that list), but these lofty professions...
