Nature and Soul: Musings of a Jungian Psychologist
The Psychotherapist and Asking the Right Question
Years ago I was working in a large inpatient setting which at times had some very psychotic patients. I was new to the job and “shadowing” someone while taking in this unfamiliar psychiatric setting. While in this role, I observed an interaction between a very...
The Passenger (Jungian Psychology in Everyday Life Series)
Are you a passenger, or a driver on the journey of your life? This is no small question. You have a unique, customized life-path to follow, and how you go about following this path matters. Not infrequently, dreams bring up the theme of transportation by car. In...
Under the Dock: An Ode to Summer’s End (Jungian Psychology in Everyday Life Series)
Summer’s end is just around the corner. It is a time of moving from the sun to the shadows of fall and winter. In the summer, many are oriented to the world outside. As fall approaches, you may feel a slight inward shift in your orientation. The sun sets earlier. The...
The Wild Inside: Grizzly Bears, Yellowstone, and the Craighead Brothers
John and Frank Craighead / Photo by the Craighead Institute* A high school biology teacher impressed upon me some of the adventures to be found in the wilderness in and surrounding Yellowstone Park. He talked of Grizzly bears and the wildlife biologists and...
The Mortificatio: Death and Dismemberment Dreams and a Coffin in the Backyard
Blackbirds and the nigredo of mortificatio* This is not a summer article. Yet similar to how life's hardships and imagery through dreams and the unconscious can interrupt our lives at any time; this topic seems relevant now, even in the middle of the summer, and after...
The Whispering Grasses
Beneath the prairie skies. Below the moon and stars. The grasses whisper. Under the sun and wind. Below the flying geese. The grasses whisper. Beneath the thunder and lighting. Below the rain and snow. The grasses whisper. Under my cloudless eyes....
Children’s Dreams and the Development of the Ego (Jungian Psychology in Everyday Life Series)
“I dare you to cross this line,” said my six year old nephew as he challenged the ocean. The development of the ego for children and teenagers, up to around age eighteen, is a central developmental task for a child, and my nephew’s comment above, perfectly illustrates...
Jungian Psychology in Everyday Life: Setting Your Sails
I have been planning to do a series of articles titled, Jungian Psychology in Everyday Life, and the above photograph from a recent holiday seemed to be a good starting point for the series. Recently, I was caught up in the excitement of one of the largest sailboat...
Why Jungian Psychology? Choosing a Psychotherapist and Psychotherapy
Choosing a psychotherapist and type of psychotherapy is an important decision. I’d like to say that it is easy, and any licensed, or friendly and competent appearing professional should be able to provide the help that you need. However, like any significant...
The Columbine and the Connection to the Soul
I have always thought the Columbine flower especially beautiful. Like many flowers, it is delicate, frail looking. It appears as if a strong rain or wind storm would break it. The Columbine’s appearance looks fragile, but it is not, really. It can withstand the...
Spruce Grouse, Climate Change and Expanding your Range through Jungian Typology
A good friend of mine, Dan Anderson, who is a wildlife photographer from Eagle River, Wisconsin, recently sent me this photograph of a Spruce grouse. He commented about the Spruce grouse in his email with the attached photos. He said, “Wisconsin is at the extreme...
Carrying the Weight: Murder and When Forgiveness Never Comes
We all want to be forgiven. Sooner or later, we all think about saying these words: "I am sorry. Please forgive me." By the time we choose to say these words, we have often reflected long and hard about our past transgression. When we decide that we are prepared and...
Scratching the Mountain: An Archetypal Dream and the 10th Ox-herding Picture
The Dream: I was looking at a woman's photograph of mountain ranges, many with beds of flowers with brilliant color on the ridge-tops. She was able to encourage flowers to bloom by using a rake and scratching the sides of the mountains first. The Association: The...
The Rabbit Hole: A Young Woman’s Journey into the Unconscious
Recently on an afternoon hike, I passed by the above hollowed out tree, which reminded me immediately of the rabbit hole in Lewis Carroll’s book, Alice in Wonderland. I knew that I must write about the image and story of the rabbit hole from a Jungian psychological...
The Old Man on the Point: The Wise Old Man Archetype
The old man lived on a wooded point of land on a deep glacial lake. His home, close to the water, yet still partly hidden by pine, oak and ash trees, was modest. It was wood, two stories, with a large picture window overlooking the water. There was a two foot rock...
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