Self

What Ayahuasca taught me about Jungian Psychology, and what Jungian psychology taught me about integrating psychedelic experiences.

Post by Johann MynhardtAbout fifteen years ago, on the recommendation of a friend and Ayahuascero (Ayahuasca shaman) I attended my first Ayahuasca ceremony. I wasn’t particularly enthused about the idea, but he suggested it might be good for me and in hindsight I probably had (and to some degree still have) issues around control. I was hesitant about opening up the floodgates of the unconscious.My journey was revelatory and to my surprise I found myself being introduced to my body...

Systema munditotius: a Master Symbol

The question, “who am I?” lies at the heart of psychological and spiritual practice. It is the origin of self-inquiry. In Jungian psychology it is both the foundation stone and telos of individuation, the art of becoming oneself. The idea that there is indeed an answer to the question of one’s true nature is axiomatic to self-reflection and inquiry. Albeit that the answer is frequently maddeningly elusive and may lead the subject to either abandon the search or to be...

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,...

Steve Jobs

Steve Paul Jobs (1955 – 2011) claims the title of the iconic leader of the personal computer (and digital device) revolution of the late 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century. Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Apple Inc, Pixar and NeXT Inc, Jobs’ genius was behind the Apple brand, the iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad. As well as the revolutionary wave of animation from Pixar, including the much loved Toy Story series. In this post I look...

The Birth of Self

What I really need is to get clear about what I must do, not what I must know, except insofar as knowledge must precede every act. What matters is to find a purpose, to see what it really is that God wills that I shall do; the crucial thing is to find a truth which is truth for me, to find the idea for which I am willing to live and die - S'ren Kierkegaard. There is little doubt that this...