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

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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.

Willpower: Choice, Energy & the Power to Achieve Jan 07, 2021

Show notes

The ability to choose and exercise will is a defining characteristic of humans. Only humans have enough energy available to consciousness to escape the rule of instinct. Jung says, “the realm of will cannot coerce instinct nor has it power over spirit,” so ego shall not dictate to psyche but find alignment with instinct and spirit, values and volition, before springing into pursuit of a goal.

We must first choose to attend to ourselves, consider the size, worth, and cost of the goal—and then practice parenting ourselves through the journey to achieving it. The nurturing inner parent is neither punitive and depriving nor lax and indulgent, but helps us chart a course between immediate gratification and long-term fulfillment. Willpower is in service to harmony and wholeness.

Here's the dream we analyze:

"Scene 1: I received a huge certificate/invitation that said I had been chosen for special study among others in my class. It was a big 30x40” purple and white piece of sturdy paper. At first I thought I wasn't going to get it but I did. Although I felt like someone had given it to me just because I was upset that I didn't get one and it probably showed. The rest of the people who got it were the quiet, timid ones in the class. So this extra invitation or opportunity to learn presented by the certificate ensured this was their opportunity to shine. I was with a young guy carrying stuff in an elevator that descended past the ground floor to levels A,B,C,D,E. We stopped at Level E. That's where the training (from the certificate scene) would take place. I was eager but also anxious about going so far down beneath ground level. We walked out of the elevator into a corridor that was of concrete blocks and there were lights spaced out along the walls in equal distance. I had the feeling it was damp like a basement. I don't remember if we went anywhere past that.

Scene 2: I saw different size bodies of water from above. I wanted to picnic by one of them. All of them had alligators in them so kayaking or swimming was out of the question. They were kind of marshy, with different vegetation growing around. I was with a girl. We picked a small pond and sat on its edge on something like a concrete slab that had a built-in bench-like feature. I was carrying two small, transparent organisms in my hand that I had to make sure not to lose or let them die. They were cup shaped. I was incredibly careful when placing them on the concrete and went to pick some tiny vegetation from the edge of the lake for them to rest and feed on. We talked and I noticed that one organism was trying to eat or hump the other except they weren't cup-shaped anymore but were rather elongated, resembling an ancient, less developed and basic structure like an insect with wings (like bee wings). They were still transparent. I think I tried to separate them but didn't want to hurt them so I didn't really intervene much, just kind of worried a bit if I should or how to intervene."

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Fierce Female Initiations: Claiming Authority & Selfhood Through Trials Dec 31, 2020

Show notes

Mythological Paths to Personal Potential

Myths and fairy tales depict women’s initiation into authority and adulthood. Hades abducted Kore (maiden) into the underworld; Snow White choked on a poisoned apple and lay in stasis; Aphrodite punished forsaken Psyche with arduous tasks. As all were blossoming into the fullness of their beauty and fertility, all were also in thrall to innocence complexes that blinded them to realities of envy, aggression, and power, imaged as rapist, step-mother, and mother-in-law.

Women’s initiation into adulthood and authority involves encountering shadow, finding inner fire, taking action, and wielding power. Kore became queen of the underworld; Snow White metabolized the poison and revived; Psyche reclaimed her mate and ascended to Mt. Olympus. Female initiation involves relational trauma and the sacrifice of a naively romantic and other-oriented stance. This mythological pattern points to the potential for finding clear-eyed selfhood, life direction, and the will to achieve goals.

Here's the dream we analyze:

"I was playing a concert with a famous elder statesman of bluegrass. We play a funny song about a cat that travels with its owner in a semi-tractor trailer, across the USA. The song begins with me playing the bass and with the cat making some kind of meow. My cat (all grey, yellow eyes, born without a tail) was lying next to me on stage, curled up on top of a stool.v The cat's presence gave me comfort, humor and warmth. At end of song the lights went dark. A spotlight forms above the elder statesman, casting shadows across his features. He turns to me and gets very close to my face. I feel pressure at being the focus of attention. He produces a large stack of cards below his chin and starts showing them to me, one by one. At first the cards and numbers don't make sense. He draws 10 then 13 - maybe he can't guess the numbers my mind is picking. All of a sudden the "trick" begins to work. He picks 24, 48 and 72. He is drawing the cards I’m thinking of and from a very large stack. These numbers are bigger than a deck of playing cards, yet they are similarly designed, quite intricate. I’m shocked, not afraid, that he knows the numbers. The elder smirks a slight, knowing smile."

References:

Michael Meade. The Water of Life: Initiation and Tempering of the Soul.

Mary Pipher. Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls.

Carol Gilligan. In a Different Voice.

Paul Foster Case. Tarot: A Key to the Wisdom of Ages.

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Scrooge on the Couch: How the Numinous Transforms Dec 24, 2020

Show notes

Something's going on in Scrooge's soul...and it's tired of waiting for an invitation.

Charles Dickens’ novella, A Christmas Carol, vividly portrays the journey to healing and transcendence. It was written in a fever, released on December 19, 1843, and sold out before Christmas. Ebenezer Scrooge’s visitations by the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come are vivid depictions of the path from trauma to transformation. As in psychotherapy, Scrooge revisits his past; by reclaiming the feelings he exiled as a child, Scrooge discovers compassion and connection.

The visitation to the present shows Scrooge familial abundance of spirit despite material poverty and possible death for Tiny Tim (also a representation of Scrooge’s own emotionally crippled inner child). The last scene, like the lysis of a dream, shows Scrooge the bleak future to which his miserly ways lead. Scrooge’s encounters with transpersonal power break through his defenses and transform him into a man of joyful and generous heart. Scrooge has learned from his former partner’s ghost that:

“Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!”

And so, as Tiny Tim declared, "God bless Us, Every One!”

References:

Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1712674218/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_rHe3FbWK5H8FF?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

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The Archetype of the Divine Child: Light Reborn Dec 17, 2020

Show notes

Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people. Luke 2:10

The divine child appears when least expected, new potential born from the womb of the unconscious. Helpless and blessed and against all reason, the divine child represents the creative union of opposites that births a new beginning. Every new beginning is a divine child, and mythological revelations since ancient times greet new psychic potential with awe and adoration. Miraculous birth signals initiation into individuation and the preordained destiny of sacred and heroic figures across cultures and through time is also our own.

The lives of Moses, Jesus, Buddha, Heracles, Horus, and Ganesha portray a Guiding Self-sustaining them through the hard human work of growing toward wholeness. Jung says, “You open the gates of the soul to let the dark flood of chaos flow into your order and meaning. If you marry the ordered to the chaos you produce the divine child, the supreme meaning…”

Here's the dream we analyze:

"I am perched high on a cliff looking down on a horrifyingly beautiful sight. There is a rugged coastline with clear blue water that is inexplicably and immensely deep immediately at the shoreline. Just off the shoreline there are monstrously large (dinosaur comes to mind) sea creatures resembling otherworldly breeds of whale and shark that appear to be dead- floating perfectly still and suspended in the deep, clear water."

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FANTASY: Do We Have Fantasies or Do They Have Us? Dec 10, 2020

Show notes

Is fantasizing helpful or harmful?

Fantasy is the process of engagement with unconscious processes, from the depths of the mythic unconscious to the make-believe worlds of online gaming. In passive fantasy we receive products of the unconscious as charged internal images: nighttime dreams, trance states and visions. Passive fantasy transgresses natural law, the limitations of waking life, and cultural restrictions, for in the subterranean realms of psychic experience all is permitted.

Active fantasy allows us to interact with the unconscious and shape our experiences. It lives next door to ideas, reverie, play, intuition, and creativity. Passive or active, fantasy can call us into lives that are larger and more enlivened, or seduce us into escapism impedes adaptation to reality. Today we can consume fantasy, and it can be consuming. Jung’s collaborator, Marie-Louise von Franz said, “The great difficulty is to save the fantasy which is life-giving and cut away the childishness of the wish to realize it.”

Here’s the Dream We Analyze

“I’m in a small underground room. Near the ceiling, in a shadowy corner, hangs a cocoon or nest. It looks like a felted mitten and contains sleeping baby bats. Frightened, I summon my husband and quietly point out the nest. He agrees that we should take care not to wake the baby bats—for even though they are tiny and blind, they are not vulnerable. I whisper the phrase “dangerous little experts.” We stand as still as we can in the dark. The next scene is outdoors and sunny. I’m in the middle of a street that is normally busy, but now empty. A snowy owl appears before me on the pavement. I again summon my husband, and as we admire the owl, five more snowies arrive. They grow until they stand about four feet tall, then begin hopping and spinning and flapping, almost like they’re performing a ceremonial Native American dance. I suspect they are children wearing feather costumes, but no, they really are owls. My husband and I are thrilled and honored. The street seems alive with magic.”

References

Learn to Analyze your Dreams: https://thisjungianlife.com/enroll/

Quoted: Marie Louise von Franz, Alchemy: An Introduction to the Symbolism and the Psychology
https://www.amazon.com/dp/091912304X/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_wJCVFbH3X12EK

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Doubt: Facing Life’s Unknowns Dec 03, 2020

Show notes

Doubt disturbs us. Unlike the more defined polarities of ambivalence, doubt is pervasive, muddy, and ranges from crippling to constructive. We may doubt our capacity to meet a challenge, achieve a desired outcome, or make the right decision. At a deeper level, doubt can threaten our orientation to reality and erode our sense of self.

Doubt can also help us prepare, increase our capacity to take risks and build confidence in our ability to prevail whether we win or lose. Doubt is about the future—possibilities, and perils. We are called to remain steadfast and chart a course in the face of life’s unknowns, for to court certainty is to seek death of the soul. Jung says, “When you are in doubt you have the greatest opportunity to unite the dark and light sides of life.” And become more whole.

Here's the dream we analyze:

"I am going on a trip and traveling in a cab with friends. During the journey it gets lively, we are excited. I am dancing, making promises to my friends that I am not thinking about fully, and telling them how judgmental my father is. There is a lot of mess being made too which I am clearing up, it seems like grass I am sweeping up and there is a small pig/dog-like animal with us but I am caught up in the moment and not paying it too much attention. I get a feeling that my behavior is quite obnoxious in front of the driver but I don't stop. We arrive at a boat port, there are lots of people and enormous boats, everyone is getting their stuff loaded for their journeys. I check the time and realize we have 20 minutes to board the boat - I think perfect. I get out of the car look around and as I turn back to the cab I notice it drive off with my stuff. I panic and instantly think the driver didn't like me, that's why he drove off with my luggage. I start running after the car and notice others running after the car too. We run and keep up with the car but are not able to reach it then one of the girls I am running with says she has the driver’s number on her phone. I shout at her to call him urgently."

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Visionary Imagination: Jung’s Private Journals Nov 26, 2020

Show notes

We welcome Sonu Shamdasani, PhD, scholar and historian of depth psychology and Jung’s opus. His research and expertise were instrumental in bringing Jung’s Red Book to the public in 2009. Jung’s Black Books, the journals in which he recorded “my most difficult experiments,” have just been published. We discuss Jung’s encounters with figures and images from his psychic depths--experiences foundational to Jung’s subsequent work and which opened a portal to humankind’s imaginal mind and mythic substrata.

The Philemon Foundation, which Dr. Shamdasani co-founded in 2003, is dedicated to bringing forward more of Jung’s unpublished manuscripts and correspondence—and now needs financial support to continue bringing Jung’s vital ideas to the world. Please click on the link below to learn more about the Philemon Foundation and how to support its work.

How You Can Help:

You can help bring CG Jung’s unpublished manuscripts to press by donating here: https://philemonfoundation.org/donate/

References:

The Black Books may be purchased at a discount: https://philemonfoundation.org/purchasing-philemon-series-books/

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Spider Parents: Finding Freedom from Dependence Nov 19, 2020

Show notes

The spider is a symbol of generative and destructive capabilities. As creator, spider spins the sustaining web of life. As predator, spider’s sticky web is an inescapable trap. Parents weave webs of familial ties, cultural norms, and generational patterns that contain—or restrain--their children. Emotional strings of attachment or enmeshment affect how—or if—a young adult child is released into the world.

A net of comfort and connection can become a web of entanglement and stultification. The tale of Sleeping Beauty portrays the stasis that ensues when parents try to protect their child from future dangers. Hindering destiny’s call to independence and individuation only obstructs the flow of life. Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. Kahlil Gibran

Here's the dream we analyze:

"I was on a hospital bed, due to a heart attack. Doctors were trying to send an electric wave to measure my heart damage--and I was terrified of the pain it may cause. Doctors told me that if it hurts I need surgery immediately. I was watching the screen, and it didn’t hurt at all. Doctors told me that my heart was really strong and that I can go home. I felt relieved. Then a nurse walked over to me and handed a piece of paper, a note from someone, and said I have to go see this other patient. The note was from Su, a high school female friend that betrayed me, a person that I don't think about at all. The note said that I need to take care of her babies. I was so confused. I walked over to the room, found her sitting on the bed. She pointed the babies to me and asked for help. I didn't talk to her. She has just given birth, and 3 little bundles were in a crib next to her. I lifted the bundles and they didn't look like babies, they were marble white and looked weird. Almost looked like the Hindu god with the elephant trunk- god Ganesh I think. I dropped them on the floor. I wanted to check whether they are real. I filled them with milk and said they are alive. I was so confused. I woke up."

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http://jungiananalyst.org/bradley_tepaske_phd.htm

QAnon: Ancient Lies & Sexual Slanders Nov 12, 2020

Show notes

QAnon is a recent iteration of a historical pattern: Romans persecuted Christians, Christians libeled Jews, and citizenries hunted witches. When existing social structures break down, psychological splitting ensues in an effort to counteract fear and re-establish certainty. Collective projections demonize a selected ‘other’ and tend toward lurid attributions of badness: pedophilia, blood drinking, and devil worship.

At the same time collectives project their need for leadership and unity onto a leader, investing the person with larger-than-life qualities. The mythic unconscious creates a dualistic division between ‘above and below’-- religious purity and righteousness versus ‘beasts of darkness,’ especially sex and aggression. Depth psychology focuses on the middle ground of soul, the realm of potential human wholeness. Without spiritual bypasses or fiends we may own our sexual, psychological and spiritual realities and develop a symbolic understanding of the myths we live in.

Here's the dream we analyze:

"I found myself in an enormous mansion, entirely empty; it was like a Jane Austen ball room. I was alone. A man with an Afro and a baby in a baby Bjorn walked past one of the many giant windows, snow behind him. He saw me and looked petrified. Running inside, he wanted to know what I was doing there, saying that this was the devil’s house. The town had gotten together years before and killed the devil. A prophecy was made that the next person to enter the house would be the devil. He said the townspeople now wanted the devil back because they were fighting so much more now, getting divorces, as they no longer had anyone to blame for their problems. I said I didn't want to be the devil and protested. Then my vision went black and I saw the silhouette of four distinct animal faces rushing toward me. The only one I remember is the goat."

References:

Bradley Tepaske

Bradley Tepaske’s publications can be found at:

https://chironpublications.com/shop/sexuality-and-the-religious-imagination/

Poem: Sometimes a Wild God by Tom Hirons

https://tomhirons.com/poetry/sometimes-a-wild-god

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