The Great Updraft

I find Ken Wilber’s theory on the shadow to be refreshing, modern and complete. It far eclipses Freud’s theory, which focuses on childhood dysfunctions and tries to reduce all later dysfunction to it. It’s also more complete than Jung’s theory, in my opinion. It offers a complex, nuanced, yet intuitive explanation of how shadow forms throughout our lives and what we can do about it. Accompanying a...

Today I’m sharing my view on how meditation can inform psychotherapy and take it to the next level. This isn’t only important if you are a therapist of any kind, or a patient, but also if you’re just a growing human being. We’ll also delve into the insight that is fundamental to any effort at personal transformation.

Today I discuss how I beat boredom forever. We discuss the problem of boredom and how it’s getting worse. We’ll talk about how it’s a vicious cycle that can lead you to dark places. We’ll look at why we feel bored. And I’ll tell you the methods I’ve used to beat boredom for good. These can help you dramatically improve the quality of your life. You’ll start to savour and even crave moments of low...

Let's talk about the Zone of Genius. In my previous episode we spoke about the Zone of Excellence and the upsides and downsides to it. This is when we feel unfulfilled, unappreciated and uninspired in our work. We concluded there is an greater level of work we can attain: the Zone of Genius. Know that this is a potentially life-changing move. It can dramatically impact your work, creativity, finan...

Don't take it too seriously, nor too lightly. Both will block your progress. Here's the Sasaki Roshi quote: "All your problems go back to your belief that you have a self. There is no thing called a self."

Today, we’re going to discuss the Zone of Excellence. If you feel unfulfilled in your life, unappreciated at work, not fulfilling your potential, it may be because you’re stuck in your Zone of Excellence. You haven’t yet discovered or developed your Zone of Genius. We’re going to help you uncover whether you’re languishing in this zone. If you realise that you are, get excited, because we’re going...

Today I want to share how taking acid has changed me. Psychedelic drugs aren’t just about seeing stuff or having a good time. If you use them with the right intention and in the right setting, they are powerful and transformative. I share my deepest psychedelic experiences and how they've transformed my life. Disclaimer: The information here is strictly educational. I’m not responsible or liable f...

Most people know, at least as an idea, that meditation is transformative. We’ve all heard snippets of scientific studies, most people have tried it at some point, you might have a friend who is a meditator. But what’s not talked about are the downsides, and the students in my local classes have been bringing this particular downside up quite often. It inspired me to do an episode on it. This isn’t...

You only experience a finite part of objective reality, of all positive input you could receive, of all possible human experiences,ANDyour unique psychology is so powerful that it puts a particular slant or filter on everything you experience. This in short is why we all live in our own world.

The ruthless autodidact is the person who can autonomously learn any subject or skill. They are masters at navigating the challenging path to mastery and busting through all the mental and practical obstacles. Trusting in persistence and the power of repetition, they lock their focus on a goal and never rest until it is achieved. They primarily look inside for their inspiration and love learning f...

In researching the anima and animus, I discovered that it has caused much controversy when it comes to gender and identity. Some people have even started to doubt the validity of Jung’s theory. Today I want to share my perspective on this controversial issue, and give an extended definition of the anima and animus to try to bypass this issue, see it from a bigger perspective, and make it a truly i...

I love Jung’s concept of anima and animus because it shows us our psyche is much more complex than we think, particularly when it comes to our gender and biological sex. Let’s look at Jung’s concept of anima and animus before turning to a more nuanced definition that bypasses the problems of gender inclusivity or lack thereof. By doing so, you’ll get a more nuanced understanding of your own psyche...

Let’s talk about Tibetan Dream Yoga, one of the fundamental practices of Tibetan Buddhism, and the main techniques involved. I’ve called this advanced lucid dreaming because if you master the techniques of Tibetan Dream Yoga you’ll be a confident lucid dreamer, capable of doing whatever you want in your dreams. In Tibetan Buddhism the goal isn’t per se to become an awesome lucid dreamer, but I thi...

We’re going to talk about how to lucid dream. How do you have your first moments of lucidity? How do you stabilise them? What do you do in lucid dreams? What can you do? Lucid dreaming is not that difficult. You just need to be consistent with the training. Don’t overcomplicate it or look for 100 resources. You have a few techniques that are tried and tested, so put them to use, and once you have...

99% of people, 99% of the time, dream every night and have no idea that they’re dreaming. We believe our dreams as they are happening. We think they're real. Let’s talk about lucid dreaming, what it means, what you can do in lucid dreams, and how to use them to understand yourself. This is another installment in my little series on dreams, so make sure to check out the previous episodes so you’re...

Unfortunately, we’ve been brainwashed into thinking that dreams are nothing but random neural firings, and most people never develop the capacity to decode them and exploit them to understand their own hidden inner pain and their own unrealised potential. Our dreams are a portal into the deepest layers of our psychology and identity. No exaggeration: they enable you to map out your subconscious mi...

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DeepPsychologyDreams are not random. They’re not a result of random neural firings. They don’t happen to you. They’re created by you and are a reflection of your hidden, subconscious, unexpressed desires and emotions and personality traits. Of course, most of the time we’re not consciously creating our dreams, but when you pay more attention, and learn to start luc...

The idea that we must silence our thoughts in meditation is the biggest myth that exists. And it’s not just a myth: it prevents you from serious engagement with meditation, it has you reinforcing all your old mental habits, and it’s extremely demotivating and discouraging. You will not progress with meditation if you believe this. If you believe this, you’re not going to become proficient at medit...

Deep Psychology on Patreon Let’s talk about how to deal with envious people. I’ve been the target of envy for most of the life. Yet until I informed myself about this emotion, I had always been puzzled by the seemingly unprovoked hostility that friends and family showed towards me. Now, I’m able to recognise envy, deflect it before it uncontrollably inflames, and take preventative action. Know tha...

Let’s talk about the signs of envy, particularly in those most likely to feel it: friends, family and peers. It’s trickier to detect than most emotions. It’s not direct. There are indirect signs that a person feels envious towards you, both in the moment and as a broader trend. Your ability able to decode the signs of envy might save you years of suffering, futile attempts to repair broken relatio...

It’s my humble opinion that in meditation, as in any other pursuit, progress is guaranteed so long as you have the right method and are persistent with it. Unfortunately, many people who come to me to learn meditation report not making progress with it, even people who’ve been meditating for a long time. So let’s look at the most important points for progressing with your meditation practice.

I wanted to clear up the topic of personality masking vs social masking vs autistic masking vs common masking because it seems there’s a lot of confusion out there about this. The main take away from this episode is that we all mask. We mask in a relatively innocent social way (I call this social masking) and in a more permanent way (personality masking). It doesn’t matter if you’re autistic or no...

Today we’re going to talk about how to reintegrate your repressed anger. In the last episode we spoke about what repressed anger is and how to spot it. Go check out that episode, then come back here to learn how to reintegrate it. I’ve tried four methods and each of them has proved useful and helped me taste the joy and fullness that comes from reintegrating this emotion.

What are the top 3 symptoms of repressed anger? Knowing these will help you uncover your own repressed anger and begin to heal it. Anger is one of the most commonly suppressed emotions. It's not socially acceptable to express it, and from an early age we're taught to suppress it. This has nefarious effects on your wellbeing and behaviour, and can even lead to depression. Article with two extra sym...

If you dislike your life and feel that there is a well of untapped potential in you, a life calling might be just what you need. As I said in my last episode, having an overarching vision then making money from it is one of the keys to being fulfilled. This isn’t an airy-fairy, idealistic talk about how life would be wonderful if we could all live our passions. It’s not an escape so that you can f...