Nature and Soul: Musings of a Jungian Psychologist
The Bride and the Coniunctio: An Archetypal Image of Love and Union
The Bride* The wedding and specifically the bride just might be one of the grandest of all archetypal images. We commonly associate weddings with the bride and the groom, but I'm going to make a case for the bride alone as a prime archetypal image and symbol for...
The Dream and the Ancient Path (Jungian Psychology in Everyday Life Series)
I don’t usually write about my own dreams on this blog, but I had a recent dream that reminded me of an elemental truth. Here is the dream: I was riding a horse down a river with the water up to the horse’s knees, and I had a fishing rod in my hand and I was fishing....
I am the Forest
There is a movie called House of Cards (1993), starring Tommy Lee Jones and Kathleen Turner. It is a story about a family, a father who died unexpectedly, a troubled young girl, and a big dream and vision. Tommy Lee Jones plays a psychiatrist trying to help the girl...
Consciousness: The Bright Side of the Moon
Photo credit: Abrams Planetarium by John French There are still tigers roaming our modern world, and make no mistake about it, you have a very real chance of being attacked and eaten. Of course for the vast majority of us, I’m speaking of symbolic tigers with this...
The Archetypal Way, the Serpentine Way and the Paradox of the Self
“There is a good thing on top of that mountain. I will make a straight line for it.” But the archetypal way is not like that; it is a serpentine way that wriggles and spirals its way to the top. We often feel defeated by it and brought to a standstill. It makes most...
A Realm of the Numinous: Religious Imagery in Dreams and Psychotherapy
For psychotherapists who practice therapy in a way that fully takes into account the totality of the psyche, they will be exposed to their clients’ dreams and other unconscious imagery that is mythical, archetypal and even religious in nature. Religious imagery is...
Of Mountains and Dreams 2: What the Hawk Sees
The hawk flies free over the valley below. If you climb the mountain and look toward the valley below, you may see the soaring hawk. Watch the hawk glide and circle while it soars on the currents of air, searching for its prey hiding amongst the rocks, trees and...
Silence and the Soul
Silence can be the soul’s only retreat from horror and tragedy. And that is alright. I heard on the radio this morning that the musician Paul Simon knew one of the victims of the recent school massacre. He attended the funeral this week and sang his classic song The...
Color and Emotion in Dreams and in Life
Drake Wood Duck* If you pay attention to the natural world around you, it is not hard to see that plants and animals utilize color in all of its grandeur. The same is true for you and your unique psychology. Your inner world and specifically your dreams, utilize color...
Timing and Discernment on the Journey of Your Life
You will have some important and pivotal decisions to make as you journey through your life. A decision at the right place and at the right time can make all of the difference. In biology and developmental psychology, there are windows of opportunity known as...
Gratitude, Blessings and Thanks
Gratitude, blessings and thanks to all of the friends and guests who visit this blog, and who I have met through this blog and on Twitter and other internet sites. I want to take a moment to thank those that I have encountered here, and to reveal what this process has...
The Back Road (Jungian Psychology in Everyday Life Series)
Jungian psychology and psychotherapy is about taking the symbolic back road. Recently, I was thinking about taking the back roads on a drive across part of the country. As I was reflecting upon this idea, I thought about how taking the back road seems a perfect...
The Stag and the Essence of the Masculine in 21st Century Man
The stag* The masculine, and masculinity are both alive and well in the psyche of 21st century man. The challenge for today’s man is to acknowledge precisely where and when to actualize his masculine potential. The idea of “where” to channel this psychic energy in...
The Swell
Lines on the horizon. Stacked in sets of twos and threes. Rolling toward shore. Young men running to the sea. Focused. Intense. Smiling. Lines on the horizon. Pounding shorebreak. Thump. Thump. Thump. Smell of board wax, taste of salt. Excitement in the air. Lines on...
The Oasis in the Desert: Self-care in a Busy World
We all need a place to rejuvenate. With ever newer technology, we have both improved our ability to communicate with one another and to gather information. This has resulted in real and sometimes deep connections with people that would have been much more...
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