This Jungian Life Podcast - Joseph Lee, Deborah Stewart, Lisa Marchiano

Latest Episodes:

Episode 47 - Falling in Love with your Analyst Feb 21, 2019

Show notes

As Jung well knew, eros – love – is an essential part of the analytic process. In Vol. 16 of his Collected Works Jung used alchemical images of a king and queen to illustrate the various ways in which erotic feeling can enter the consulting room. The safety of a time-limited, fee-based relationship is important to allow a full range of feelings and fantasies to be admitted into consciousness without being enacted. Idealizing and erotic feelings for another can pave the way to finding one’s center in oneself.

The Dream:

"I was some kid, with a family. The family left me out of some event, and then they went on a hot-air balloon trip without me. After returning, when I complain, the mother announces that I'm "ready" for it, and prepares to have intercourse with me. But just then, her upper body turns into a giant snake and moved to devour me. And that woke me up."

Link to the Rosarium Images

Episode 46 - Hiding Feb 14, 2019

Show notes

Many a fairy tale features hiding as a strategic defense. Jack, of beanstalk fame, hides from the giant in order to survive and discover his treasure. We often hide when we feel small and life events and people feel big. Hiding can be a conscious decision, whether for fun, as in the game of hide and seek, or out of necessity, as Anne Frank’s family’s had to do. Hiding can also be an unconscious phenomenon, particularly if there has been trauma, in order to protect the inviolable life of the soul. How, then, does an individual come out of hiding to discover him- or herself?

The Dream:

I was on a mountain trip in a van driven by a man with dreadlocks. He was driving myself and some others high up on the mountainside. It was a beautiful and clear winter day. I suddenly had a feeling that we were going to crash. It was a very windy road and he was driving so fast that he couldn't make the hairpin turn. We flew off the road and into mid-air. Life was suddenly in slow motion and I thought I should try to call my boyfriend while we were flying through the air and tell him what was happening. I awoke before the van started to fall.

Books:

The Inner World of Trauma and The Soul and Trauma by Donald Kalsched, PhD. Available on Amazon.

Episode 45 - The Wall Feb 07, 2019

Show notes

With “The Wall” very much in the forefront of national discussion, Deb, Lisa and Joseph reflect on the archetype of walls. Some may be stonewalls simply marking boundaries between neighbors. Others may be massive defenses like the Great Wall of China. What do walls keep out – or keep in? What do we need to create necessary separation, and what walls off connection with our own shadow that may be projected onto immigrants. When we focus on building a wall, do we neglect our internal infrastructure, health care and education—and eventually shut down our government? This discussion explores parallels between external and internal walls.

The Dream:

I am in my parents’ home and preparing to sleep, when I feel scared and I see through window just shining eyes looking at me from dark. I come closer and open the terrace door and I see an old lady, and I start yelling at her and waving with my hands to make her go. I want to scream but I have no voice and then my partner wakes me up. I was lying in bed, feeling scared for couple of moments, more...

Episode 44 - The Archetypal Power of Football Jan 31, 2019

Show notes

Football is a uniquely American sport with millions of fans, heroic teams, and stadiums reminiscent of colosseums. As the Super Bowl approaches – television’s most watched show – Lisa, Joseph and Deb consider the archetypal underpinnings that contribute to making football America’s most watched sport. They consider the light and dark sides of fandom, the hero’s journey, the battleground, and more.

The Dream:

For some reason, I brought kitty litter to the bathroom -- it was not for a cat (since I don't have one anymore) but had some other purpose. Well, as soon as I put it down, my (former) cat, Smoky immediately ran into it. I was surprised to see her, since she's been gone (dead) for years. But she was right there and obviously needed to use the litter urgently. I had the impulse to pull her away, but held back, realizing that she needs to use the bathroom and it's really important not to disturb her in doing that. Then, as I was watching her in the litter box, I saw that she was wrestling with a mouse. As I watched the scene, I saw that both Smoky and the mouse were the same size (the size of a large mouse). Smoky seemed to be winning, but it was definitely a wrestle. They were raising up dust and moving very quickly, so it was hard to see what was happening, but I saw Smoky making cuts on the mouse's back/body, and even saw some blood. I had the sense of cheering her on.

Episode 43 - Heartbreak Jan 24, 2019

Show notes

Heartbreak is more primal, more pervasive, and more related to one’s sense of self than sadness. Our hearts can break over the death of a dearly loved other, including a pet…and our hearts can break over the death of a relationship and the death of our hopes and dreams, and our innocence, idealizations, and the psychic needs we believe another can fulfill. Heartbreak is mythological and fairy tale theme, which illustrates its central place in the human psyche, and in them we find clues to how one heals from this devastating experience.

The Dream:

I am in a distant and unfamiliar town. I enter into a restaurant, but I don’t have any money. I peek into the kitchen and casually ask one of the employees to hand me a bowl. I go over to the other side of the restaurant and begin to get some soup from the pot and eat it. Then one of the employees comes over to me, he’s speaking Spanish and I can’t understand him, but he’s clearly asking me if I paid for it. I am not really acknowledging him directly and jokingly say: no hablā Ingles. I finish the soup and casually walk out, and know at this point that the employee will try and catch me. I hide in the forest, and wait for him to pass by, then begin to run in a different direction. I see the employee running around trying to search for me. Slowly, with the help of an unknown figure that’s with me, I make it back to my car, but am constantly scanning to see where the employee is. I start driving off, but I notice almost immediately that my car is not at full power, it’s revving high and not producing enough torque or speed but continue to drive anyway. The town is small but feels kind of like a maze, and struggle to find my way out of it. Eventually the road ends and turns into a dirt trail that has tall grass further down, but there is a path where the grass had been pressed down from barn animals having stepped on it. Had it been the higher grass, I don’t think my car would have had enough power to plow through it. My car is really struggling at this point, and barely moving forward. Then out of nowhere a baby deer who appears frightened begins to run closer and closer to me, almost as if to get underneath me sort of like baby elephants do with their mother when they need protection. It no longer feels like I’m driving, but rather riding a bicycle; as the deer gets closer and closer, I keep pedaling and know that it’s eventually going to get run over. The deer gets nicked and starts crying. I stop my bicycle and pick him up, and begin to coddle and pet and kiss him. I really try to comfort him, and apologize to him repeatedly. I can feel his little wet nose sniff me as I kiss him. The little deer is so vulnerable and can’t get enough of comforting him. It gives me a warm feeling to comfort and protect him.

Episode 42 - Over Apologizing Jan 17, 2019

Show notes

What is “I’m sorry” as a habitual response really about? There’s the preemptive apology that is offered to forestall possible criticism, the apology that evokes reassurance from others, the apology for falling short of perfection…and more. This episode explores developmental, interpersonal, and intrapsychic dynamics of various kinds of habitual apologizing. We’ll be sorry if it falls short of your expectations.

The Dream:

I'm at a holiday "work party" for the very exclusive private school where I work, but it's in a big, old, rather shabby hotel that reminds me of a firehouse where my family used to have annual holiday gatherings. I'm mingling among all of the people and (as is true in my conscious life) can't seem to find a group with which I feel completely comfortable or myself. I feel like a lonely misfit in disguise, feigning conformity and pleasant attitude. I go upstairs to where the bathroom is supposed to be, and it feels very far away from the party--the second floor is creepily empty and quiet, with several large, empty rooms. I don't remember actually going into a bathroom, but as I'm about to go back downstairs to the party, I see an infant boy teetering at the top of the staircase on the landing. He is far too small to be walking. I immediately pick him up to save him, and he looks up at me, clearly distressed, and begins speaking as a much older child would. I ask him where his mother is, and he says he doesn't know, and is crying.

I don't remember all of what he says, but he tells me that he is in kindergarten. I hold him to my chest and he begins to calm down, eventually falling asleep. I feel affection for him and give him a kiss on the cheek, but I'm alarmed and unsure of what we will do. I go downstairs to the bartender of this party and ask where this boy's mother might be. He says, "probably in the party upstairs." No one at the work party seems to notice or care that I have this lost baby. I go back upstairs, and as before, there is no one there--just an open door exposing a room with these creepy, industrial looking blue closet doors (almost like storage spaces) underneath a fluorescent light. I feel a deep sense that this situation is not right, and a strong determination to get myself and the baby out of there. The dream ends with me standing on the landing, baby still pressed against me.

Episode 41 - Regret Jan 10, 2019

Show notes

Along with a our guest podcast Brazilian Jungian analyst Leticia Capriotti, we explored the psychological underpinnings of regret. We considered that sometimes regret can arise as a result of self-betrayal. We link it to the unlived life that can haunt us and demand our attention. At times, this unlived life may reach into the ancestral past, as we struggle with inter-generational patterns. We discuss how sometimes this can lead to new creative endeavors, but at other times, there may need to be a painful sacrifice of fantasy before regret can be transformed. To avoid bitterness, we must come to love our fate, which involves sanctifying the ordinary. We discussed the work of genogram expert Monica McGoldrick. The Dream: It is the middle of the night & I am in the shadowy living area of what appears to be an English mansion house. The room is large and high ceilinged, but is dark & shadowy. My attention is focused on a dimly lit table, where I am standing and packing to depart. I am packing my final suitcase with books - a companion is bringing the books to me but who that person is is unclear (perhaps my young adult son). The books are hard covered and old, thick & weighty. I don't know the titles - but they are from a prolific 19th century English male author who I have never felt the need to read, yet I'm taking the care to pack these. I'm sorting the books & packing with haste. While I'm in charge of the packing, I worry about what I am doing. The books are so thick and heavy & take up so much space - will I even be able to carry the suitcase? Is it a mistake packing these...will I read them?...why take these, why now, at this time? I seem to finish sorting, although I leave everything in the shadowy room. I open the heavy door made of dark wood to peer into the shadowy entryway where my other small suitcases are standing. I peak out into the darkness, keeping my eye out for danger but also for the unknown person who will come to take us away.

Episode 40 - What's Unique about Jungian Analysis? Jan 03, 2019

Show notes

How is Jungian analysis different from other psychotherapies? What are its major components and distinguishing features? And what makes it effective? Lisa, Deb, and Joseph discuss Jungian analysis as a nonlinear process that is not limited to problem-solving or reducing symptoms. Instead, Jungian analysis is grounded in an inherent capacity to grow into wholeness, a process Jung called individuation. Jungian analysis places a high value on all the processes and multiplicities of the unconscious, from symptoms to work with dreams, in order to facilitate the integration of denied or devalued aspects of the personality. The four particular stages of an analytic journey, which may overlap, are explained: catharsis, elucidation, education, and transformation—altogether an abiding fullness of being.

The Dream:

I’m in the front room of my home. It is a farmhouse with views from the room of rolling hills. I’m looking after my two young boys inside and the room is in chaos. An unexpected visitor enters the room, it is my friend who is a vicar. We have children a similar age and I think he has come for a playdate, but I realize he has turned up for a therapy session. He wants to discuss his addiction but I can’t focus as I need to look after the children. I also wonder how I have let this happen—he’s my friend and this is my home; I feel guilty I have let this happen.

Episode 39 - Shrink Rap Radio Dec 27, 2018

Show notes

This week we sat down with Dave from Shrink Rap Radio to discuss dream analysis. We hope you enjoy and happy holidays!

Episode 38 - Holiday Madness Dec 20, 2018

Show notes

As the holiday season approaches, we examine the tidal pull of the ancient, archetypal power of the solstice season. Because of this underpinning, together with the power of family narratives, roles, and complexes, the holidays can be fraught with intense feeling, from hope to regression to disappointment. We discuss ways to manage feelings, intention, and behavior.

The Dream:

"I am in a bathhouse (Turkish bath) and sitting immersed in the pool of warm water to my waist. I am sitting with my back to a rectangle column made out of black granite. I have my arms are stretched like a crucifix and my hands are holding onto the column that is behind me. The pool is made out of green granite. To my left there is an altar made out of cubic-shaped granite and on which sits a woman who is a sage, a seer, a fortune-teller, or a magician. She is wearing a long dress and is sitting crossed legged. My back is hot and dries the film of water on the column and as the column dries my back leaves marks on the column. The marks are magical symbols. They resemble the Japanese Zen art that is done by a water-wet brush on a black rock and it fades as water dries. The woman comes and looks at them and she is flabbergasted. She has never seen magical marks such as these.

In the bottom of the pool and in front of me there is a piece of green granite with a circular metal inlay and a ring attached to the circular metal. It resembles the remains of a counterweight that would have been used in opening the gates to castles. I look at it and with the power of my mere stare the rock floats up to the surface of the water and glides on the surface. Then the rock starts skipping on the surface of water 3 times and lands on the skirt of the woman who is back on the altar."

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