Posts - Applied Jung

Eating Disorders as an Addiction to Perfection

“The individual may strive after perfection . . . but must suffer from the opposite of his intentions for the sake of his completeness.” Jung (1951) This article is based on Marion Woodman’s Addiction to Perfection and is a continuation of my previous article on the author: Psyche, Metaphor, Soma, with a specific focus on how disembodiment and the loss of the feminine principle engender the development and maintenance of eating disorders. Woodman, whose focus is on women whose food complex is bound...

September 22, 2023

By Kiva FarahAddiction, Eating Disorders, Marion Woodman, Perfectionaddiction, Jung, raison, Woodman7 Comments

Mercy! Possession by the Animus.

“Like the anima, the animus is a jealous lover.” G. Jung, CW7 ¶ 334 "The animus appears in many myths, not only as death, but also as a bandit and murderer, for example, as the knight Bluebeard, who murdered all his wives." - ~Marie-Louise Von Franz, Archetypal Dimensions of the Psyche, Page 280 I love you But I gotta stay true My morals got me on my knees I'm begging, please, stop playing games I don't know what this is 'Cause you got me good Just like you knew you...

July 17, 2023

By Stephen FarahAnima and Animus, Jungian Themes, Marie-Louise von Franz, Shadowanimus, shadow4 Comments

Alchemical Active Imagination

In her book Alchemical Active Imagination, Marie Louise von Franz explores the work of Gerhard Dorn who was a doctor, natural philosopher, and alchemist. Dorn was a true alchemist in that he never allowed himself to get away from the fact of the real concrete body, he did not buy into the idea of a metaphysical or astral body but the real body. When the real body is treated properly, he believed that it would form the basis for the medicine...

June 29, 2023

By Alexia AthalieAlchemy, Dream Work, Marie-Louise von Franzalchemy, dreams, von Franz6 Comments

Marion Woodman: Psyche, Metaphor, Soma

Introduction Internationally renowned Jungian analyst, mythopoetic author, and women’s movement figure Marion Woodman (1928-2018) was a pioneering analyst in the relationship between psyche and soma, crafting an embodied and feminist psycho-mythical path that sought to unify these two aspects of Self. [1] She examined the effects of patriarchal society and its repression of the feminine principle on the development of eating disorders, addiction, and our relationship to the body, and examined the psycho-spiritual dimension of woman’s oppression in a culture...

June 13, 2023

By Kiva FarahAddiction, Psyche and Somaraison5 Comments

Consciousness: Articulating the Archimedean Point (part 2: metaconsciousness)

This is part two of Consciousness: Articulating the Archimedean Point. Click on this link to read Part 1 It is difficult to overemphasise this polarising dynamic of consciousness. Consciousness, for Jung, means consciousness of the opposites: ‘There is no consciousness without the discrimination of opposites’.[1] Jung’s preferred image here is the Ouroboros, an image of the opposites facing each other in conscious awareness, illustrating the birth of (meta) consciousness. Against this Jung considered ‘involuntary one-sidedness, i.e., the inability to be anything but...

May 18, 2023

By Stephen FarahConsciousness, Ego6 Comments

Consciousness: Articulating the Archimedean Point (Part 1)

I do not know whether it is desirable that consciousness should alter the eternal laws; I only know that occasionally it does alter them. (Jung, 1928/1966, ¶ 389) Consciousness is central to Jungian theory and application, both academically and clinically, this being the metaphorical Archimedean Point of the Jungian psyche[1], notwithstanding Jung’s perceived focus on the unconscious and the archetypal processes invoked by Jung to expand, amplify, and generally increase the vistas of the personality. Most importantly, for Jung a personality that...

May 15, 2023

By Stephen FarahConsciousness, Ego4 Comments

The Solution: Memories, Dreams, Synchronicities

Wealth has always been an important symbol to me. And, to be clear, by “wealth” I don’t mean some nebulous expression of “abundance” in my life. I have often find myself smiling ironically when hearing evangelical preachers telling their congregation that Jesus wants “abundance” for them. No, I don’t mean “abundance”, I mean simply, financial wealth. Like Floyd Money Mayweather, it’s the greenbacks that impress me. I’m not dissing those other good things, like health, longevity, and procreation -albeit that...

March 20, 2023

By Stephen FarahDream Work, Synchronicity, Uncategorized14 Comments

The Crucible of Complexes

According to Carl Gustav Jung, “The more “complexes” a man has, the more he is possessed.” We all have complexes, there is no getting away from that. A complex, you may be wondering, is a set of repeated patterns of normally highly charged emotional states associated with the past. Memories, impulses, or desires, organised around a common theme, that may be repressed, which give rise to a complex being constellated, and the behaviour of the person to being one of “acting out.”...

March 9, 2023

By Alexia AthalieUncategorizedraison6 Comments

The Daimon

I recently listened to a fantastic Ted Talk by author Elizabeth Gilbert that spoke on the benefits of mystical thinking in creative work. Gilbert adopts the ancient Greek belief that creativity comes to us from a ‘daimon’, a disembodied intelligence with numinous imperative that seeks to inspire and assist us in our work. According to Gilbert, it is through our partnership with these supernatural beings that ideas are born into the world. She recommends this as a beneficial mode of...

February 8, 2023

By Kiva FarahUncategorizedraison2 Comments

Book Review: The Principle of Individuation by Murray Stein

THE PRINCIPLE OF INDIVIDUATION By Murray Stein, PhD A Brief Synopsis by Byron Gaist, PhD The author of this book, Dr. Murray Stein is a graduate of Yale University (B.A. and M.Div.), the University of Chicago (Ph.D.), and the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich (Diploma). He is a founding member of the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts and of the Chicago Society of Jungian Analysts. He has been the president of the International Association for Analytical Psychology (2001-4), and the President of The...

January 9, 2023

By Anja van KralingenBook and Movie Reviews, Uncategorized0 Comments