This Jungian Life
Stoicism and Jungian psychology are a natural fit. The first invigorates and organizes the reasoning mind, and the second ensouls it. The amalgam of Stoicism and Jungian Psychology generates a natural resilience. It offers a frame to understand the interplay of reason, emotion, and imagination in service to inner growth. Integrated philosophical reflection empowers us to confront societal crises and develop autonomy through rational self-awareness. Inclusive Stoicism connects personal development to shared human values. The ancient discipline of clear thinking can heal us through narrative...
info_outline Finding Our Way Back: Healing from Self-BetrayalThis Jungian Life
When we betray ourselves, we abandon our values, needs, or truths to gain approval or avoid discomfort. This leaves us disconnected, fragmented, and unsure of who we really are. These patterns often start in childhood, where conditional love or invalidation teaches us to hide our authentic selves to stay safe or gain acceptance. We see this in our daily lives—staying in unbalanced relationships, ignoring our emotions, overworking, or making choices that don’t align with who we are. We justify it, suppress what we feel, or take on others’ beliefs without realizing how much it costs us....
info_outline ECSTATIC TRANSFORMATION: Activating the Archetype of Radical JoyThis Jungian Life
What does it mean to depose the ego and encounter the dismantling joy of the Self? Ecstatic transformation challenges our understanding of ourselves and breaks the boundaries of ordinary experience, leaving us questioning a lifetime of assumptions. It shatters our ego’s illusions of separation, shifting the foundation of our identity. It is the greater solutio where our ego and Self come face to face. This psycho-spiritual process is symbolized in the Dionysiac archetypal themes of death and rebirth through ecstatic states that transcend the rational, intensify emotion, and connect us to...
info_outline WEDDING DREAMS: Symbols of Sacred Union and Inner TransformationThis Jungian Life
How does one reconcile and integrate opposing forces within to achieve wholeness? Wedding dreams symbolize the union of opposites that spans psychological, spiritual, and alchemical dimensions. Encountering the wedding archetype in dreams constellates an inner marriage that calls for synthesis of known and novel traits and attitudes—depicted as the merging of masculine and feminine aspects or encounters with shadow. Dream Wise: Unlocking the Meaning of Your Dreams will help you understand and prepare for inner union: https://a.co/d/9EyMMgE Alchemy called this process the hierosgamos, or...
info_outline DECISION ARCHETYPE: the power of sacrificing optionsThis Jungian Life
How do we navigate the forces within us to make choices that reflect our authentic nature? Every decision acts as a bridge between the conscious mind and the unconscious depths, connecting archetypal patterns to individual choices that define human experience. Each choice reveals inner conflicts and values, compelling us to confront both personal desires and universal forces within psyche. Decision-making is not merely logical; it is a convergence of intuition, cultural imprint, and raw instinct, calling for integration rather than domination by one mode of thought. In conscious choosing, we...
info_outline SATANIC PANIC: The Archetypal Slanderer and False Memory SyndromeThis Jungian Life
What drives us to seek meaning in the shadows, and how do we discern the real from the imagined when fear and faith converge? The rise of the Satanic Panic in the 1980s drew upon ancient archetypal fears of evil embedded in the collective unconscious, merging with societal stressors like the emergence of fundamentalist Christianity in American politics and women’s increased participation in the workforce with the resultant rise of daycare use. The archetype of the Devil as slanderer can capture a community. Even as they are prompted to accuse others of devilish behavior, they themselves are...
info_outline Jung and Gnosticism: Discovering a Universe Of Whole-MakingThis Jungian Life
What is the ultimate path to inner wholeness, and how do we reconcile the tension between the spiritual and material aspects of our existence? Take up the journey to find your lost spark this fall at Dream School: Jung’s exploration of Gnosticism enhanced his vision of the human psyche. In the Gnostic myths, Jung recognized the modern inner journey—where the Self represents the wholeness we all seek, mirroring the Gnostic Anthropos, the complete human being. Individuation, much like the Gnostic quest for spiritual awakening, becomes a journey of reclaiming our hidden divine spark,...
info_outline CULTURAL COMPLEXES: the hidden force in modern politicsThis Jungian Life
How do unconscious forces shape our collective behaviors and influence how we navigate societal conflicts and personal identity? Free yourself from the collective nightmare—discover the wisdom of your dreams this fall at Political dynamics are deeply influenced by underlying psychological forces known as cultural complexes, which shape group behavior, reinforce divisions, and heighten emotional responses to societal changes. Tom Singer, editor and fellow author of , explains that these social psychology phenomena, arising from emotions and ideas, affect how individuals think and feel....
info_outline DOG SYMBOLISM IN DREAMS: companions, protectors, and guides of soulsThis Jungian Life
How does the dream maker help us when we’re lost and alone in the wilderness of our lives? Let your inner dogs guide you to a deeper understanding of yourself—discover the wisdom in your dreams this fall at We love dogs, and they love us. For millennia, they have held deep symbolic meaning in mythology, religion, and literature, often serving as protectors, guides, loyal companions, and a connection to our instincts. When it comes to dog symbolism in dreams, they can embody emotional support, intuition, or boundless enthusiasm. Whether acting as guardians, like in ancient myths, or...
info_outline JUNGIAN ALCHEMY: the secret of inner transformationThis Jungian Life
Do you need a map to chart a massive inner transformation? Jungian alchemy provides a symbolic framework for individuation, connecting ancient alchemical traditions with analytical psychology to illustrate the psyche's transformative process toward individuation. CG Jung saw alchemical imagery as symbols for inner psychological processes, where the work of transforming base metals into gold paralleled the transformation of unconscious material into conscious awareness. This alchemical process deepens our understanding of confronting our shadow, inspires us to differentiate our true...
info_outlineIn psychoanalysis, a screen memory covers up a deeper, more emotionally charged issue. Similarly, movie and television screens both shield and open us to human complexity through fiction. The opportunity to peer into shadow and secrets from a safe distance is irresistible. Depictions of psychotherapists and therapy can range from the malevolent Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) to psychic empath Deanna Troi (Star Trek). Most on-screen therapists, however, like their real-world counterparts, are wounded healers doing their best to help despite sometimes substantial fallibilities. Bruce Willis (Sixth Sense) doesn’t realize he’s dead; Jennifer Melfi (The Sopranos) denies her mobster client’s sociopathy, and Kelsey Grammer (Frasier) embodies the mercurial power of humor that grants perspective. Jung understood the value of the analyst’s capacity to suffer as they led the way; he writes, “…it is his own hurt that gives a measure of his power to heal.” During the painful tumult of the COVID pandemic, growing demand for therapeutic support piqued public curiosity in the mechanisms of psychotherapy, opening the way for Jonah Hill’s vulnerable documentary STUTZ, filmed with his ailing therapist Phil Stutz. It invites the public to witness the wisdom, mutual vulnerabilities, and authentic affection that fuels the healing process. As Freud wrote in a letter to Jung, “…psychoanalysis in essence, is a cure through love.”
HERE’S THE DREAM WE ANALYZE:
“I was attending a drag show, but I put on a costume and began to perform on stage. I was a background performer for someone else, and I was just walking around the stage. I felt like I wasn’t wearing the costume that I wanted to wear. I didn’t feel comfortable or confident. I also felt like I wasn’t getting cheered on by the crowd. I got off the stage and felt unseen. I remember seeing a pill bottle, and not knowing what it was, I took a pill. It was someone’s else’s medication that I stole. I spent the rest of the dream trying to hide in shame from taking someone else’s medicine and anxiously waiting to see what the pill was going to do to me.”
REFERENCES:
Frazier (TV series, 1993-2004). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frasier
In Treatment (TV series, 2009-2021). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Treatment
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (film, 1975). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Flew_Over_the_Cuckoo%27s_Nest_(film)
Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV series, 1987-1994). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation
STUTZ (Film). (2022); Jonah Hill, Phil Stutz. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKCmefQdplI
The Sixth Sense (Film, 1999). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sixth_Sense
The Sopranos (TV series, 1999-2007). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sopranos
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