This Jungian Life Podcast

How do our interactions with the seemingly mundane objects around us reflect and influence our deeper psychological processes and connections with the broader universe? Jung held a fascinating belief in the soulful essence of inanimate objects. He engaged in daily greetings with his kitchenware at Bollingen Tower, expressing a unique form of animism that extended deeply into his personal and profe...

How does the interplay between vulgarity and societal norms reflect and shape the human experience of freedom, creativity, and psychological depth?   Our collective fascination with vulgarity, obscenity, and profanity lies in the thrill of transgression and the need to articulate the unspoken aspects of human experience. As we navigate social acceptability, the vulgar mirrors our deepest shadow an...

How do we interpret and evaluate C.G. Jung's complex legacy in light of his interactions with Jewish individuals and the allegations of antisemitism, considering the nuanced historical context in which he lived and worked?" Ronnie Landau helps us unpack allegations that Jung was antisemitic. Assessing Jung's possible antisemitism is complex and requires a nuanced understanding of his...

Can we grow by facing and integrating our ferocious instincts? The Three Little Pigs isn't just a children's tale; it's a sharp commentary on resilience, preparation, and the strategic mindset required to navigate life's challenges. This story strips back the layers of our decision-making processes, questioning whether we opt for quick fixes or invest in durable solutions. Prepare...

How does resolving inner conflicts enhance external relations? Conflict, both inner and outer, is a fundamental part of the human experience. We engage in conflicts externally with others and internally within ourselves, reflecting the complex nature of human relationships and the psyche. Our external conflicts often mirror internal struggles, serving as manifestations of unresolved or unacknowled...

Can Jungian psychology shed light on the archetypal forces shaping gay identity?" Our guest, Robert Hopcke, examines how Jung and Jungians have regarded homosexuality both clinically and theoretically, demonstrating that within a great diversity of opinion, there exist many ways to deepen an understanding of the lives and loves of gay men and lesbians. Hopcke proposes a view of homosexuality...

  Deep in each of us, a Vital Spark fights to free us and set us back on the path.   Lisa, Joe, and Deb were joined by more than 300 audience members for their first-ever live podcast to celebrate the launch of Lisa's new book, The Vital Spark: Reclaim Your Outlaw Energies and Find Your Feminine Fire.  The "Vital Spark" is the core essence of our innermost fiery qualities—creative ag...

When we offer our heart and it is refused, even the gods become angry.  One day long, long ago, Aphrodite was a new mother. Her son, Eros, was the living symbol of her endless passion for his father, Aries. Despite her divine gifts, Eros failed to thrive. Desperate, she brought the goblet to the ancient mother, Themis, who knew the boy was dying at once. Aphrodite was instructed to bear a second c...

How do the varied human experiences, beliefs, and practices related to death and dying illuminate our understanding of life's meaning and help us face the end of life with peace and a spirit of adventure? The death instinct (Thanatos) and the life instinct (Eros) symbolize the internal conflict between self-destructive urges and desires for creation, reflecting the psychological struggle with...

How do we navigate the complex interplay between personal truths, societal norms, and psychological well-being to foster individual growth and societal progress? We examine the multifaceted nature of Truth and its impact on individuals and communities. We touch on the challenges of speaking Truth to power, the psychological dynamics of scapegoating and being disbelieved, the role of psychotherapy...

Are we inadvertently summoning forces beyond our control in our relentless pursuit of innovation and progress? Can we harness the power of our creations without unleashing terrible consequences upon ourselves and our world?  Prometheus and his brother, Epimetheus, were tasked by Zeus with fashioning all living creatures. They granted animals remarkable abilities - feathers for flight, claws, fangs...

How do dreams influence and reflect our spiritual beliefs and experiences across different cultures and historical periods, and what does scientific research reveal about this relationship? Kelly Bulkeley, PhD, is a global expert on dreaming and the psychology of religion.  We explore his latest book "The Spirituality of Dreaming: Unlocking the Wisdom of Our Sleeping Selves." Dreams univ...

How does the experience of divorce lead to personal transformation and self-discovery? The journey of divorce is emblematic of a profound personal transformation, often unveiling the paradoxical nature of human relationships where deep trust and love coexist with the potential for betrayal and disillusionment, reflecting the intrinsic human struggle between connection and individuality. This indiv...

How can combining psychedelics and Jungian psychology enhance our understanding of psyche? Psychedelics may help us access deep layers of the unconscious, revealing aspects of psyche that are often inaccessible through traditional psychoanalytic methods alone. Jungian analysis, with its focus on archetypes and the collective unconscious, provides a framework for interpreting and integrating the co...

Jung's concept of the collective unconscious emphasized the universal psychological substrate common to all humans. While he acknowledged the effects of the cultural unconscious, his work, at times, fell into the trap of perpetuating oversimplified and racially prejudiced stereotypes. Jung's writings that refer to Africanist peoples, in particular, suffer from offensive assumptions. Dr. Fa...

Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year, calls us to brood and turn within. Retreating to the unconscious is a psychic wintering, calling our life force down into our archaic patterns. It can trigger a sorrowing that helps us adjust to inevitable losses, just like the forest that silently drops its foliage without lament. At the nadir of darkness, light is reborn, and each successive day gr...

Yascha Mounk is a political scientist and author focused on the challenges facing liberal democracies and the rise of populism. As a Johns Hopkins University professor and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, he critically examines identity politics in modern society. His influential works include "The People vs. Democracy" and "The Identity Trap." In an era where...

The great catastrophe of Jung's generation was the rise of Nazi Germany and WWII. His insights into the collective psyche of nations remain relevant today as we grapple with war and violence worldwide. Prepare to discover how collective hysteria and moral downfall lead to loss of individual responsibility and susceptibility to authoritarian control, whether collective guilt and the psychologic...

"The monsters that chase you in dreams are not trying to hurt you. They just want to reunite with their creator………...… that's you, dummy."   (Quoted from an unnamed Jungian analyst overheard at a cocktail party.)  Today, we analyze four nightmares submitted by listeners: BBQ Cats, Blood Red Sky, Tsunami, and Malevolent Presence.  Our dreams are always trying to correct our waking per...

What wisdom do fairy tales hold about childrearing in our modern world?  Briar Rose is the foundation for the familiar fairytale Sleeping Beauty. It addresses the complicated consequences of unconscious parenting. While it is understandable we wish to protect our children from harsh realities, too much shielding can hobble them later in life. We may hide our shadow from ourselves and our children,...

What hidden messages make Disney cartoons so impactful and enduring? Disney cartoons were groundbreaking. They introduced synchronized soundtracks in 1928, and today, they create extravaganzas that sweep audiences into tears and laughter, offering role models of virtue. Archetypal themes, often drawn from fairytales, thrum through the storylines appealing to the archaic levels of our psyche. Prepa...

Aaron Balick is a psychotherapist, speaker, consultant, educator, and author of The Psychodynamics of Social Networking. Social media invites snap emotional reactions, muddling clear thinking and escalating global tensions. It feeds on our anger, oversimplifying complex problems which blocks our ability to empathize. Nuanced explanations are demonized as if seeking to understand was an affront. If...

Today's technology allows us to be seduced by the possibility of fame and celebrity tempting the ego to claim what does not belong to it.  In earlier times, fame was garnered slowly through work in the arts, scholarship, religion, and the military. Today, unprecedented, almost instantaneous communication has made fame a commodity in itself. Novelty performers, entertainers, influencers, and sp...

If we lean into strange experiences with gentle curiosity, we may discover a level of psyche that acts directly on objects. Many of us have uncanny coincidences like thinking of a friend at the exact moment they ring us on the phone, but what about physical things breaking apart for no reason or luminous apparitions at our bedside? We often explain them away to reduce our anxiety, but Jung found t...

Lisa, Deb, and Joe, Jungian analysts and co-creators of This Jungian Life podcast, have introduced thousands of clients to an inner world with unexpected resources.  Many people just can’t rally to do what’s necessary and improve their lives. Is it possible they just don’t carry much vitality, or is some inner conflict blocking their access? We share personal stories of ‘energy loss’ and offer ins...