This Jungian Life Podcast &#8211; Joseph Lee, Deborah Stewart, Lisa Marchiano

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Do you have a topic you want us to cover?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WE NEED YOUR HELP! Become a patron to keep TJL running.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

If you’ve been struggling in the dark trying to find the keys to unlock your dreams, help has arrived. Order your copy of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Dream Wise: Unlocking the Meaning of Your Dreams⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ from the hosts of This Jungian Life podcast and open the secret door.

Loyalty to Self and the Death of Illusion Aug 22, 2024

Show notes

Loyalty is deeply tied to our identity and evolves unconsciously, shaping our relationships and expectations.

This evolution is influenced by attachment styles and can be manipulated in political contexts, distorting our sense of fairness. Disillusionment occurs when our loyalty to people, institutions, or ideas meets harsh reality, leading to the painful but necessary process of individuation. Mourning the loss of illusions requires taking responsibility for our lives and listening to the wisdom of the unconscious. Choosing Self over the system—whether through personal decisions like coming out, whistleblowing, or defying societal norms—demands courage and authenticity. This choice often comes at a great cost but is essential for true personal growth. Embracing our uniqueness and living authentically leads to true freedom and belonging. Loyalty to Self is about identifying and following the wise voice within, despite external pressures. It involves facing the consequences of stepping away from collective norms and rejecting external expectations. Ultimately, it is through this loyalty to Self that we align with our true purpose in life.

Prepare to discover what drives the unconscious forces of loyalty and the impact of disillusionment on personal growth, how to navigate the complexities of choosing self over societal expectations and align with your true nature, which patterns of attachment influence your relationships and decisions, leading to either authentic or misguided loyalties, whether embracing individuality and rejecting illusions can lead to true freedom and belonging, why it is essential to confront and integrate the unconscious for personal authenticity and fulfillment…and so much more.

FIND THE DREAM WE ANALYZE HERE: https://thisjungianlife.com/loyalty/

LOOK & GROW

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Do you have a topic you want us to cover?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WE NEED YOUR HELP! Become a patron to keep TJL running.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

VOLCANO: ARCHETYPE OF CREATION AND DESTRUCTION Aug 20, 2024

Show notes

Volcanoes appear in our myths, movies, and dreams. Their awesome destructive power fascinates us and serves as a reminder that we are not in control of nature’s primordial forces. Offering access to the earth’s molten core, volcanoes have been believed to be the entryway to the underworld or Hell. The Greeks believed that the fiery bursts from volcanoes were the sparks flying from Hephaestus’ forge, thus underscoring the creative aspect of volcanoes – Hephaestus created items of incredible beauty and power in his underground workshop.

Volcanoes create new rocks and new land mass. Their mineral-rich output fertilizes the surrounding soil, producing abundant and delicious crops. The volcano serves as a potent image of the unconscious – unpredictable, sometimes explosive, powered from the depths – but also capable of bestowing its fructifying blessing upon us.

FIND THE DREAM WE ANALYZE HERE: https://thisjungianlife.com/episode-234-volcano/

LOOK & GROW

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Do you have a topic you want us to cover?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WE NEED YOUR HELP! Become a patron to keep TJL running.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The Secret Life of a Woman's Soul Aug 15, 2024

Show notes

What is unique about the evolution of consciousness in the female psyche?

Hilary Morgan, filmmaker and granddaughter of Christiana Morgan, created the documentary "Tower of Dreams" to lift up her grandmother's significant contributions to analytical psychology and her exploration of the feminine psyche. Christiana's visionary art and collaboration with Carl Jung, particularly her influence on the Vision Seminars, were pivotal in clarifying how archetypal forces emerge in the psyche and eventually adopt human forms. Her tower embodied her individuation process and created sacred space to experiment with expanding Jung's work through intimate relationship. Despite societal repression and personal struggles, Morgan's legacy endures through Hilary's efforts to restore and celebrate her grandmother's work, ensuring her contributions continue to inspire future generations.

Prepare to discover what distinguishes Christiana Morgan's contributions to Analytical Psychology; how she contributed to significant psychological tools like the Thematic Apperception Test; which aspects of her life and work exemplify female individuation; whether the insights derived from her life can provide meaningful perspectives on contemporary issues of female psychological development; why Christiana's legacy is essential for understanding the power of creativity and visionary experiences in shaping both individual lives and psychological practices…and so much more.

LEARN more about The Tower & HELP Publish Christiana's Journals: https://www.towerofdreamsdoc.com/support

TAKE ACTION to Save the Tower on the Marsh: https://www.thegovernorsacademy.org/academics/morgan-tower-project

FUNDRAISE: To Join the experienced fundraising team with Hilary Morgan, reach out to her: hilarymorgandp@gmail.com

LOOK & GROW

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Do you have a topic you want us to cover?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WE NEED YOUR HELP! Become a patron to keep TJL running.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

UNLOCK THE POWER OF SYMBOLS Aug 08, 2024

Show notes

Author, teacher, and Jungian analyst Murray Stein helps us unlock the power of symbols.

Symbols, as the keys to unlocking psychological forces, have the transformative potential to heal our suffering and restore our relationship to the center of our being. These images connect our waking minds to the unconscious reservoirs of creativity and emerging potential. From historical religious practices to modern everyday life, symbols evoke powerful emotional and psychological responses that can guide or manipulate us. Whether through dreams, visions, or cultural contexts, symbols bridge the material and spiritual worlds, restoring our instinctive sense that we live our lives from the inside out.

Prepare to learn what symbols are and their significance in Jungian psychology, how to engage these images through techniques like active imagination, journaling, and creative expression, which symbols carry significant psychological and emotional weight, whether symbolic experiences can lead to transformative psychological insights, why symbols are essential in bridging the material and spiritual worlds and so much more…

FIND A COPY OF THE DREAM WE ANALYZE HERE: https://thisjungianlife.com/unlock-the-power-of-symbols/

Learn more about Murray HERE:https://www.murraystein.com/wp/

LOOK & GROW

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Do you have a topic you want us to cover?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WE NEED YOUR HELP! Become a patron to keep TJL running.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

LUXURY BELIEFS: Has social class shaped your mind? Aug 01, 2024

Show notes

What unconscious beliefs alienate us from those who are less privileged and what can we do about it?

Rob Henderson, author of the best-selling book "Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class," explores the concept of "Luxury Beliefs." Raised in poverty by a drug-addicted mother and navigating a series of painful foster care homes, Henderson found outward success through the military, Yale, and Cambridge but never resolved his inner suffering. His self-reflection led him to identify "Luxury Beliefs," attitudes prevalent among his affluent peers that serve as social status indicators rather than practical principles. These beliefs, such as dismissing traditional marriage, advocating laissez-faire parenting, and drug decriminalization, are manageable for the wealthy but destabilize poorer communities. By understanding luxury beliefs, society can foster empathetic conversations across socioeconomic lines, ultimately recognizing that the upbringing and environment we provide for children shape our future culture.

Prepare to discover what hidden socioeconomic doctrines influence our beliefs, how affluent philosophical tenets shape societal norms and affect different social classes, which beliefs serve more as status symbols than practical principles, whether luxury beliefs genuinely injure the impoverished, why understanding these concepts can foster empathy, bridge cultural divides, and inspire positive policy changes…and so much more.

Learn more about Rob here: https://www.robkhenderson.com/about

LOOK & GROW

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Do you have a topic you want us to cover?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WE NEED YOUR HELP! Become a patron to keep TJL running.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Is it Love or Abuse of Power? Shadow and Archetype in TELL THEM YOU LOVE ME Jul 25, 2024

Show notes

Can we protect ourselves and others from powerful projections that confuse reality and make us vulnerable in ways we cannot imagine?

In honest and open discussion, we meet with director Nick August-Perna, whose controversial documentary, "Tell Them You Love Me," has set off a firestorm. Rutgers professor Anna Stubblefield claimed to unlock Derrick Johnson through facilitated communication. Debate erupted about whether Johnson, a nonverbal Black man with cerebral palsy, could give consent. Was this true love, or an abuse of power? Race, informed consent, the personal autonomy of people with intellectual disabilities, and overwhelming archetypal dynamics must be grasped to understand the complex forces at work in their relationship, and the reactions others felt when it was discovered.

Prepare to discover what disrupts the balance between love and power; how personal biases and psychological projections shape our interactions and ethical decisions; which societal attitudes towards race, disability, and consent need critical examination and reform; whether facilitated communication can authentically reflect the thoughts of nonverbal individuals or merely the facilitator’s fantasies; why we need multiple voices, divergent feelings, and cultural tensions to surface without simple resolutions to expand consciousness.

LOOK & GROW

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Do you have a topic you want us to cover?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WE NEED YOUR HELP! Become a patron to keep TJL running.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

ARE YOU TRACKING TWISTERS? The reckless charm of creating tornados in our lives. Jul 18, 2024

Show notes

How can understanding the symbolic power of twisters help us navigate and transform the chaotic forces in our lives with resilience and wisdom?

Twisters symbolize the spontaneous upheaval in the ordinary affairs of life that can be annihilating or transformative. These swirling vortexes are manifestations of the sacred, expressions of celestial and generative power that were communicated to the terrestrial realm. From Kiowa legends to Jungian analysis, tornados personify an aspect of the unconscious capable of volatility and violent acts of destruction, yet the same forces provided life-giving rain. These wild archetypal storms signify inner turmoil, grief, and erotic passion. They symbolically evoke psychic tension gradually building to the bursting point or more sudden in-breakings of highly charged transpersonal energies. If we can face the power of these vortices of force, inner and outer, we will come to know the source of our own life.

Prepare to discover what deep psychological insights can be drawn from the symbolic power of tornadoes in our lives, how diverse cultural interpretations of storms can enrich your understanding of personal and collective challenges, which archetypal elements resonate with your own experiences of chaos and transformation, whether the metaphor of twisters can be a guide for navigating life's emotional and spiritual upheavals, why the storm, as a potent symbol, captivates the human psyche and represents the balance between destruction and renewal…and so much more.

READ ALONG WITH OUR DREAM INTERPRETATION HERE: https://thisjungianlife.com/twisters/

LOOK & GROW

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Do you have a topic you want us to cover?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WE NEED YOUR HELP! Become a patron to keep TJL running.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

PERSONAL SHADOW WORK: Where is your dark twin hiding? Jul 11, 2024

Show notes

Where are our lost talents and disowned powers hiding?

PERSONAL SHADOW WORK: Where is your dark twin hiding? Helps us identify parts of ourselves pushed into the unconscious due to conflicts with our family of origin and misalignment with cultural and family norms. We first encounter shadow by projecting it on others. The despicable traits we cannot stand in others point to similar qualities we refuse to acknowledge in ourselves. Self-confrontation and honest introspection can help us say, “I am the one who hides this terrible flaw inside myself. I am the one who rejects my inner dark twin.” When we can approach reclaiming all parts of ourself with good humor, patience and courage we discover a reservoir of intense energy, talents and creativity.

Prepare to discover why we dream of figures who hunt and chase us, whether it is safe to face our inner darkness alone, how to identify our most vilified characteristics, when it’s the right time to prioritize shadow work, what is pressuring us to accept our inner dark twin and where will this courageous process lead us…and so much more.

FIND A COPY OF THE DREAM WE ANALYZE HERE: https://thisjungianlife.com/personal-shadow-work/

LOOK & GROW

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Do you have a topic you want us to cover?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WE NEED YOUR HELP! Become a patron to keep TJL running.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Did Jung and Tolkien visit the same psychic realms??? Jul 11, 2024

Show notes

How can the shared imaginal realms of Jung and Tolkien empower us to navigate our personal journeys and transform our understanding of self and community?

In exploring the uncanny shared imaginal realms of Jung and Tolkien, author Becca Tarnas uncovers a profound intersection of depth psychology and mythopoeic literature, revealed in their seminal Red Books. Amid the early 20th century's upheaval, both authors undertook personal and universal journeys into the psyche, employing active imagination to engage archetypes such as the shadow, anima, and hero. Their works, brimming with symbolic meaning and mirroring profound psychological truths, beckon us to contemplate transformation, individuation, and the potency of the feminine principle within. By crafting intricate narratives and psychological insights, Jung and Tolkien charted the inner landscapes of human experience, underscoring the universal struggles and spiritual depths that bind us all. Their exploration of nature, the environment, and the darker facets of the psyche showcase the transformative power of literal and metaphorical journeys, guiding us toward enlightenment and self-realization.

Prepare to discover what the psychological and creative processes behind the works of Jung and Tolkien reveal about the universal journey of self-discovery; how to access and interpret your own imaginal realms to deepen your understanding of the personal and collective unconscious; which aspects of Jung's and Tolkien's methodologies can be applied to enhance self-awareness and artistic expression; whether the challenges and insights presented in their works have parallels in contemporary psychological practices and personal development; why the exploration of imaginal realms is crucial for personal growth and the cultivation of a richer, more connected sense of community…and so much more.

READ A COPY OF THE DREAM WE ANALYZE HERE: https://thisjungianlife.com/shared-imaginal-realms-of-jung-and-tolkien/

Rebecca Tarnas is an Assistant Professor in the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness program at the California Institute of Integral Studies. Her research includes depth psychology, archetypal studies, literature, philosophy, and the ecological imagination. She is an editor of Archai: The Journal of Archetypal Cosmology and author of Journey to the Imaginal Realm: A Readers Guide to J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (https://a.co/d/7zIUX4K). She is researching and writing a biography of Stanislav Grof, a co-founder of transpersonal psychology.

For more information about Becca, check out her website: https://beccatarnas.com/

LOOK & GROW

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Do you have a topic you want us to cover?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WE NEED YOUR HELP! Become a patron to keep TJL running.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠