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

Latest Episodes:

Mandala Archetype: How the Self Turns Chaos into Cosmos May 29, 2025

Show notes

⁠DREAM WITH US, and we’ll teach you how to interpret them!

Mandalas are Psyche’s way of drawing a compass for you when life feels off-kilter. Jung noticed that these circular patterns—whether they appear in Navajo sand paintings, Tibetan yantras, or last night’s dream—pull everything back toward a stable center he called the Self.

The rim defines where your ego ends; the cross-lines and repeating fours help you locate sensation, feeling, thinking, and intuition in relation to your core. By “walking” the circle, even in imagination, the ego learns to orbit rather than hijack the organizing center, and the usual tug-of-war between instinct and spirit eases.

Jung’s own Liverpool dream, with its sunlit circular island in a dark industrial square, showed him how a mandala can emerge autonomously whenever Psyche needs to order chaos and point the way back to wholeness. Curious why a circle keeps popping up in dreams and sacred art?—listen in and find out how it can quietly realign your life.

*Featuring our new Q&A section where we answer questions from our Patrons!

GO DIRECTLY TO THE Q&A: 43:29

LOOK & GROW

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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We’d like to take a crack interpreting your dream.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lisa’s leading a retreat in ITALY!⁠⁠⁠

House Dreams: Schematics of Your Psychological Functioning May 22, 2025

Show notes

DREAM WITH US, and we’ll teach you how to interpret them!

When a house turns up in a dream, it isn’t a staging background—it’s an architectural X-ray of your inner life, drafted by the dream maker overnight and delivered to your doorstep at dawn. Floors chart levels of awareness, locked doors expose repressed material, intruders crash in as disowned traits, and every leaking pipe or crooked stair announces a personal attitude in need of repair.

In this episode, we’ll teach you how to read the blueprint with the same clarity you’d bring to structural engineering, and your dream will hand you a working map for shadow work, boundary-setting, and genuine psychic renovation.

Read along with our dream interpretations HERE.

LOOK & GROW

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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We’d like to take a crack interpreting your dream.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lisa’s leading a retreat in ITALY!⁠⁠⁠

Ready for the Real Snow White? The True Tale of Envy, Murder, and Retribution May 15, 2025

Show notes

NEW: Come along to our free Shadow and Dreams Seminar on May 17

Ever wonder why “Snow White” still hooks us after all the Disney glitter flakes off? This episode strips the tale down to its psychological wiring: murderous envy of the mother shadow, malignant innocence, the unforgiving “mirror” inside that only answers the questions we’re brave enough to ask, and the dangerous alchemy that transforms three lethal mistakes into mature authority.

You’ll hear why the dwarflike bits of half-formed masculinity in all of us mine gold from the unconscious, how raw instinct often finishes the work refined methods can’t, and how real agency activates only when infantile fantasies are forged into a powerful animus. It’s a crash course in holding onto wonder while crafting ruthless boundaries—if that mix intrigues you, dive into the full conversation.

*Featuring our new Q&A section where we answer questions from our Patrons!

LOOK & GROW

⁠⁠⁠Attend Our Free Shadow and Dreams Seminar⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join THIS JUNGIAN LIFE DREAM SCHOOL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We've got totally NEW MERCH!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We’d like to take a crack interpreting your dream.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lisa’s leading a retreat in ITALY!⁠⁠⁠

Forging the Upward Thread: Why Do We Create Religions? May 08, 2025

Show notes

DREAM WITH US, and we’ll teach you how to interpret them!

The religious function is part of who we are — as natural as needing food or love. It’s the inner drive that pushes us to find meaning, to touch something larger than ourselves. Jung saw that if we don’t tend it, it doesn’t go away; it twists itself into addictions, compulsions, or a kind of soul-sickness. Religion, in the deepest sense, isn’t about belief systems.

It’s about real encounters with the Self — the larger reality inside us that humbles, heals, and reshapes us. Dreams, symbols, and moments of awe are how Psyche keeps that connection alive. Without them, the energies meant for growth get stuck or spill out in destructive ways. In this episode, you’ll learn how to stay open and reimagine ways the sacred can speak to you.

Read along with our dream interpretation HERE.

LOOK & GROW

⁠⁠Attend Our Free Shadow and Dreams Seminar⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join THIS JUNGIAN LIFE DREAM SCHOOL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Do you have a topic you want us to cover?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We've got totally NEW MERCH!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We’d like to take a crack interpreting your dream.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lisa’s leading a retreat in ITALY!⁠⁠⁠

Trauma Can Be Rewritten: The Use of Art to Reimagine our Past and Grant Us New Life May 01, 2025

Show notes

DREAM WITH US, and we’ll teach you how to interpret them!

Viviane Silvera animated 30,000 of her hand-painted images to explore how traumatic memories are formed, stored, and ultimately transformed. Her animated documentary, SEE MEMORY, traces the intimate story of a young woman caught between past and present; her film captures the fragmented texture of trauma and the healing that becomes possible when painful memories are witnessed. In our conversation with Viviane, we explore her process of recovering lost memories and how opposing perspectives can constellate new attitudes toward trauma. We discuss cutting-edge findings on the way the brain stores and changes memory and reveal the intersection of art, science, and psyche.

Watch SEE MEMORY on PBS (now live!): Streaming Link

Here's a list of all the broadcast DATES

About Viviane:

Viviane Silvera is an award-winning artist and filmmaker whose work blends painting, animation, and neuroscience to illuminate memory, trauma, and the unconscious. She holds a dual B.S. in Psychology and Political Science from Tufts University and an MFA from the New York Academy of Art.

Read along with our dream analysis HERE

LOOK & GROW

⁠Attend Our Free Shadow and Dreams Seminar⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join THIS JUNGIAN LIFE DREAM SCHOOL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Do you have a topic you want us to cover?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We've got totally NEW MERCH!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We’d like to take a crack interpreting your dream.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lisa’s leading a retreat in ITALY!⁠⁠⁠

How to Develop Your Inner Guidance: Charting a Path Through the Current Chaos with Jung’s Insights Apr 24, 2025

Show notes

DREAM WITH US, and we’ll teach you how to interpret them!⁠⁠⁠

Today you'll learn about inner guidance--the quiet, built-in compass that surfaces when we pause the outer noise long enough to feel what rings true inside. It is less a mystical oracle than a subtle convergence of bodily signals, emotional undertones, and intuitive "hunches" distilled from our lived experience.

When we meet a decision with open attention—neither forcing a rational verdict nor surrendering to raw impulse—this inner faculty sorts, weighs, and hints at the direction that aligns with our deepest values. Acting on it demands two skills: discerning authentic signals from fear or wishful thinking and then trusting ourselves enough to follow through. Practiced regularly, inner guidance becomes a dialogue between conscious intention and the wiser, often quieter currents of the Self.

Read along with our dream interpretation HERE.

LOOK & GROW

Attend Our Free Shadow and Dreams Seminar

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join THIS JUNGIAN LIFE DREAM SCHOOL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Do you have a topic you want us to cover?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We've got totally NEW MERCH!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We’d like to take a crack interpreting your dream.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lisa’s leading a retreat in ITALY!⁠⁠⁠

[SUBSCRIBER-BONUS] How to work with Shadow Material. Apr 20, 2025

Show notes

In this free edition of Jung Love, our subscriber-bonus content, a Patron asks:

"What do you do with shadow material? Is it enough to just become aware of your shadows? Or does it require a fixing of oneself? What is the process of processing it? I'm still trying to wrap my head around the shadow. What if I'm aware, but still don't like the shadow? Robert Johnson talked about rituals for the shadow. Can you speak about that in more depth and perhaps provide some examples?"

BECOME a TJL Patron and enjoy exclusive content like interpreting your dreams, explaining Jung's ideas, and more: TJL PATREON

LOOK & GROW

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join THIS JUNGIAN LIFE DREAM SCHOOL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Do you have a topic you want us to cover?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We've got totally NEW MERCH!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We’d like to take a crack interpreting your dream.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lisa’s leading a retreat in ITALY!⁠⁠⁠

Shadow and Self in Adolescence: Navigating Rage, Love, and Individuation Apr 17, 2025

Show notes

DREAM WITH US, and we’ll teach you how to interpret them!⁠⁠⁠

Think of adolescence as life’s built‑in boot camp: your body hits the gas, your mind scrambles to keep up, and suddenly you’re wrestling with raw impulses, big feelings, and the question “Who am I, really?” That surge of anger toward parents often hides an intense love that feels too risky to show, so teens push back while secretly measuring whether adults—and the wider world—can handle their storm.

Without clear rites of passage, they test limits through friends, online thrills, and daring choices, all in service of hammering out a story that’s theirs, not just a hand‑me‑down from family. If they can ride those waves—owning both the wild Shadow and the hopeful Self—they step into adulthood with a genuine sense of direction; if they dodge the work, the unfinished business shows up later as anxiety, depression, or a nagging sense of being stuck.

LOOK & GROW

⁠⁠⁠⁠Join THIS JUNGIAN LIFE DREAM SCHOOL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠Do you have a topic you want us to cover?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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

⁠⁠⁠⁠We've got totally NEW MERCH!⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠We’d like to take a crack interpreting your dream.⁠⁠⁠⁠

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.

⁠⁠⁠⁠Lisa’s leading a retreat in ITALY!⁠⁠⁠

From Worry to Insight: Making Sense of Uncertainty Apr 10, 2025

Show notes

⁠DREAM WITH US, and we’ll teach you how to interpret them!⁠⁠⁠

Worry arises because we can imagine countless possibilities, yet it often traps us in unproductive loops. Recognizing when worry prompts useful action—and when it spirals into paralysis—can be transformative. By holding uncertainty with patience, rather than trying to eliminate it, we engage a deeper capacity to reflect, adapt, and discover hidden strength.

Read along with our dream interpretation HERE.

LOOK & GROW

⁠⁠⁠Join THIS JUNGIAN LIFE DREAM SCHOOL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠Do you have a topic you want us to cover?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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

⁠⁠⁠We've got totally NEW MERCH!⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠We’d like to take a crack interpreting your dream.⁠⁠⁠

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.

⁠⁠⁠Lisa’s leading a retreat in ITALY!⁠⁠⁠

Detective Archetype Decoded: Tracking Symbolic Clues Apr 03, 2025

Show notes

⁠DREAM WITH US, and we’ll teach you how to interpret them!⁠⁠⁠

Ever felt that irresistible urge to poke around for answers? That’s the detective archetype calling. It taps into our natural drive to uncover hidden truths and bridges the gap between what’s out in the open and what’s hidden in shadow. Whether we’re looking at Sherlock Holmes’s logical wizardry or Miss Marple’s understated brilliance, detective stories grab our attention by setting things right when wrongdoing has thrown everyday life off-balance.

But these tales aren’t just about catching a culprit; they mirror an inner process. It’s the part of us that wants to piece together clues about ourselves and our world. Sometimes, we can get lost in suspicion, seeing danger where there might be none—but courage and clear-eyed discernment help us face the darkness without being consumed by it. From ancient myths like Oedipus to modern shamanic traditions, cultures everywhere highlight this inquisitive spirit.

And it’s not confined to police dramas, either. We do everyday detective work whenever we investigate a health concern, solve a mystery with friends, or sift through family lore. Uncovering what’s concealed can spark genuine insight and, over time, help heal both individuals and communities. Tune in to find out how this detective archetype shines a light on our need to seek truth—revealing new possibilities for discovery and growth.

LOOK & GROW

⁠⁠Join THIS JUNGIAN LIFE DREAM SCHOOL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠Do you have a topic you want us to cover?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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

⁠⁠We've got totally NEW MERCH!⁠⁠

⁠⁠We’d like to take a crack interpreting your dream.⁠⁠

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.

⁠⁠Lisa’s leading a retreat in ITALY!⁠⁠⁠