This Jungian Life Podcast

Invitations are a subtle siren song, tapping into our primal human need to be chosen combined with our thirst for novelty, making them an irresistible force.When you receive an invitation, it is a moment of recognition, an invitation to be a part of something greater, to feel wanted, valued, and accepted. In the hierarchy of human needs, the sense of belonging takes a top priority, surpassed only by our basic requirements for survival.There is power in inviting and being invited. The myth of Baucis and Philemon, who innocently invited Zeus and Hermes to dine in their humble cottage, and were blessed for their generosity, reminds us that the right invitations can bring abundance and joy into our lives. But, like the cautionary tale of Sleeping Beauty and the curse of the uninvited fairy, withheld invitations can also be dangerous, hiding the potential for envy and retribution.An invitation can be a fateful call to action, tapping into our innate desire to be heroic and admired. It’s difficult to resist such a call. But, just as the hero must leave the safety of their home and venture into the unknown, so must we when we accept. Invitations promise a world of possibilities, whether we’re being asked to join a cause célèbre, fight for change or seek personal meaning.However, not all invitations are created equal. Some are manipulative, depending on our naivety, susceptibility to feeling special, or sense of obligation. Some may only lead to an evening of mind-numbing boredom. Therefore, it is essential that we take a step back and evaluate each invitation objectively, wisely, and carefully considering the implications and outcomes before accepting. We must understand that invitations are not simple requests but symbols of growth and possibility. So, join us as we explore the unpredictable consequences that come with each invitation and embrace the opportunities that await us. The irrefusable invitation awaits, and the choice is yours. Will you accept? Here’s the dream we analyze:“Me and three old friends are at a fair-like event. One of the friends comes to the three of us and suggests that we should try out the batting cage, which we are all excited about. We start heading to the batting cage and the friend that suggested we go is not going with us. We get to the batting cage and the guy running it says the speed of the balls is 91 mph and asks if we can hit that. My other two friends seem confident, I am not. I was never a good hitter when I played baseball. We head to the batting cages, I notice everyone else is paying in tickets and we didn’t. My friends get slightly ahead of me and a worker points me towards a ladder that is going up about three stories. I am terrified of heights. I climb up the ladder and I’m at the top but there is a worker’s desk right there. She seems nice and unbothered by the fact that I’m climbing up a ladder to get over her desk. I try for several minutes, while at the top of the ladder, to climb over her desk to get to the floor with the batting cages. I am unable to do it. My leg is not flexible enough to reach over the desk. I wake up breathing heavily.”  LOOK & GROW⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join THIS JUNGIAN LIFE DREAM SCHOOL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Do you have a topic you want us to cover?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WE NEED YOUR HELP! Become a patron to keep TJL running.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lisa’s leading a retreat in ITALY!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We've got totally NEW MERCH!⁠⁠⁠⁠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.

Join Arlene Landau, a Jungian analyst and author, as she delves into the enchanting yet perilous world of the Aphrodite archetype. She explores how society’s obsession with beauty pressures women, particularly in Hollywood, leading to struggles with identity and mental health. Arlene discusses the tragic fates of icons like Marilyn Monroe and the deeper implications of eternal youth. With personal anecdotes, she highlights the duality of love and beauty, urging for a redefinition that transcends mere physicality and embraces authentic femininity.

Exploring the sacred and transformative nature of marriage, this podcast episode discusses the history and symbolism of this age-old institution. The hosts delve into the multifaceted aspects of marriage, including its emotional, legal, and historical dimensions. They also explore the origin of love and its innate nature, delving into the art of courtly love and the profound connection between individuals. The symbolic significance of marriage is analyzed, along with the dynamics of expectations, projections, and disappointments within a marriage. The speakers also discuss the confrontation with the divine, exploring dreams, the unconscious, and the impact of accessing archetypes. Finally, the concept of angels and the symbolism of railroad tracks is examined, highlighting their significance in the context of love and unity.

Guest Eve Maram, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist and Jungian analyst in Orange, CA. Her book, The Schizophrenia Complex, presents a clear-eyed and compassionate understanding of our encounters with severe mental illness.The submergence in unconscious chaos that defines schizophrenia triggers negative emotions in others—yet Jung on psychosis showed that we are different from those patients only in degree.Significantly his Word Association Test proved that the unconscious influences everyone’s daily life in multiple ways.Moreover, Jung’s psychiatric work with psychotic convalescents led to his ground-breaking discovery of the collective unconscious, humanity’s mythopoetic substrate.Understandably we shy away from people in psychosis because they are living out our own radical and universal mad parts. But, instead of turning from the schizophrenia complex, we can acknowledge our shared darkness and stretch into connection.Then, as Eve Maram’s story depicts, we may find eros has the power to constellate hope, courage, and tenacity in the face of chaos, helping us discover that we are more than before. Here's the dream we analyze: “I am about to play tennis on a public outdoor court with 4 or 5 other guys and a coach. As we are walking onto the courts, I ask "are there any tennis prodigies from the neighborhood who play here?" Coach says no and I am a little disappointed. We spread out on the courts to get ready for a drill, and I step into a big pile of dog poo. I am disgusted, and I yell out to the other guys. They don’t hear me but they do notice that I am walking off the court. Just outside of the court, I stomp and scrape my shoe in a small grassy area, but I can’t get the dog poo off. It is clinging to my shoe with claws-it is actually a furry brown creature. At first, I think it is dead but as i stomp it comes alive and starts to fight back.” REFERENCES: Eve Maram. The Schizophrenia Complex. https://a.co/d/9NORqZJJohn Weir Perry. The Far Side of Madness. https://a.co/d/gxpIuXuNathan Filer. This Book Will Change Your Mind about Mental Health. https://a.co/d/atN5SyvLOOK & GROW⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join THIS JUNGIAN LIFE DREAM SCHOOL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Do you have a topic you want us to cover?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WE NEED YOUR HELP! Become a patron to keep TJL running.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lisa’s leading a retreat in ITALY!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We've got totally NEW MERCH!⁠⁠⁠⁠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.

Imprisoned by the sea with his son Icarus, mythological craftsman Daedalus constructed wings to escape. Beeswax held feathers in place, so Daedalus told Icarus not to fly too high or too low: the sun’s heat would melt the wax and sea spray would weigh the wings down. Elated, Icarus flew too high--and fell. Like Icarus, the moods of people with bipolar disorder swing from soaring into mania to sinking into depression. This disorder affects at least 2% of the population worldwide, with genetics by far the major contributor. BP is a major cause of disability and can also be a factor in creativity; it often brings with it anxiety, substance abuse, migraines, and more. Treatment includes medication, attention to lifestyle, and psychotherapy that includes relating to archetypal polarities. Jung says, “It is not a matter of indifference whether one calls something a ‘mania’ or a ‘god.’ To serve a mania is detestable and undignified, but to serve a god is full of meaning and promise.” Bipolar individuals soar between opposing archetypes leaving them exhausted and confused. Myths help ground the ego in a larger perspective.Here's the dream we analyze:“I am in a restaurant busy with people standing and moving around. I too am standing and have been given a seafood dish in an opaque glass (at first like a fancy stemmed glass for cocktail shrimp) and I slurp some of it down. Looking into the vessel I realize I've been eating raw seahorses. I continue to eat, one and then another, not wanting to be rude. They are slimy, room-temp, and gray. I look again into the vessel, which now is narrow at the top and wide at the bottom as if the seahorses, barely submerged in a grey liquid, are in a dark pit that I have to peer into, and I do realize that some of them are still moving, puckering their lips trying to breathe. I decide I cannot keep eating them. I go to where murky puddles have formed in the cement by the melting ice and crab parts of the kitchen's seafood prep. I assume the puddles to be brackish, or at least can provide a more bearable end of life for the seahorses, so I throw them in by flicking the glass. There are still more seahorses stuck to the bottom of the glass, my flicking hindered by its strange shape. People are standing and talking around the puddles now, so it's discreetly that I quickly flick the rest of the seahorses out, not wanting to be seen doing it and not wanting the seahorses to be seen in the puddles.”  REFERENCES:Buzz Aldrin. Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon. https://a.co/d/j1IQZIDJason Thompson. A Jungian Approach to Bipolar Disorder: Rejoining the Split Archetype.https://a.co/d/fZS821YKay Redfield Jamison (multiple books): An Unquiet Mind; Manic-Depressive Illness; Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament; Exuberance: The Passion for Life. S-town podcast. https://stownpodcast.org/Werner Herzog (film). Grizzly Man.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grizzly_ManLOOK & GROW⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join THIS JUNGIAN LIFE DREAM SCHOOL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Do you have a topic you want us to cover?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WE NEED YOUR HELP! Become a patron to keep TJL running.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lisa’s leading a retreat in ITALY!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We've got totally NEW MERCH!⁠⁠⁠⁠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.

Conned, swindled, or bilked, about 50 million Americans were ripped off by scammers in 2020. What deadens a person to preying on another? Tricksters commit crudely constructed fraud. Jung said they are “not really evil [but do] the most atrocious things from sheer unconsciousness and unrelatedness.” Cheaters may have behaved decently until tempted by need and opportunity and then become caught in a web of deception. Narcissists exploit others due to an inflated need for admiration and status that forecloses empathy and relatedness--and crooks turn predation, power, and risk-taking into a career. They lack authentic affiliation with others and an abiding sense of self; egotism and performative grandiosity substitute for feeling and being. The scammer unwittingly scams himself by seeking false gold in the external world. Real gold lies within.Here’s the dream we analyze:“I’m with my family in a grand dining room, around a large table with lots of food on it. It’s going to be dad’s funeral. I hear that mum is really upset because she wants to see dad’s body before they bury him. Some men bring dad’s body directly past the table where we are sitting, and as they bring the body past, I recite the lyrics to the Kenny Rogers song “The Gambler” to my brother. I look at him sincerely, and I clearly say: “On a warm summer’s evening, on a train bound for nowhere, I met up with a gambler, we were both too tired to sleep. We took turns in staring out the window at the darkness Until the boredom overtook us, and he began to speak. He said, “Son, I’ve made a life out of reading people’s faces Knowing what the cards were by the way they held their eyes. And if you don’t mind me saying, I can see you’re out of aces, and for a taste of your whiskey, I’ll give you some advice. You’ve got to know When to hold ’em, Know when to fold ’em, Know when to walk away, Know when to run, You never count your money When you’re sittin’ at the table, There’ll be time enough for countin,’ When the dealin’s done, Now every gambler knows, The secret to survivin,’ Is knowin’ what to throw away, And knowin’ what to keep, ’Cause every hand’s a winner, And every hand’s a loser, And the best you can hope for Is to die in your sleep.” Then I stop, and we start to eat the food.”  REFERENCES:Bernie Madoff, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_MadoffElizabeth Holmes, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_HolmesGeorge Santos, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_SantosJohn Carreyrou. Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup.https://a.co/d/3Gv3NMJMaria Konnikova. The Confidence Game: Why We Fall for It Every Time. https://a.co/d/gWd18xRPodcast: Dr. Death. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/dr-death-s1-dr-duntsch/id1421573955Sam Bankman-Fried, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Bankman-FriedLOOK & GROW⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join THIS JUNGIAN LIFE DREAM SCHOOL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Do you have a topic you want us to cover?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WE NEED YOUR HELP! Become a patron to keep TJL running.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lisa’s leading a retreat in ITALY!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We've got totally NEW MERCH!⁠⁠⁠⁠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.

New Year is a global time of celebration and self-reflection. We let go of what’s worn out and cheer on what’s new and emergent. Here at TJL, we raised our glasses in gratitude. We crested 8 million downloads, implemented major enhancements to your Dream School experience, started crafting our first book, The Key Dreams, and expanded our creative team. It’s been a year of dynamic growth, and we couldn’t have done it without you! Our mission to share Jung’s life-enhancing wisdom is advancing through your patronage, soulful participation, and kind-hearted enthusiasm.Your experiences are important to us, and we noticed the 2022 episodes you liked best. So to honor that, we’re sharing some gems from those conversations. In Reality as Medicine, we explore the task of adapting to the truths of our inner and outer worlds. Finally, in Vocation: Answering the Call, we deepen Jung’s comment, “In the final analysis, we count for something only because of the essential we embody, and if we do not embody that, life is wasted.” In Amor Fati: Love of One’s Fate, we discuss the transformational shift that occurs when we embrace our fate and say the great “YES!” to our lives.  In Forgiveness or Fury: Finding a Way Forward, we offer a psychological definition of forgiveness and suggest that we can accept apology and remorse—if it’s accompanied by introspection and greater self-understanding. We clarify that forgiveness is less about the other than self-liberation from the victim paradigm. When Jungian analyst Donald Kalsched joined us, we discussed Trauma and the Informed Heart. Don’s wisdom, depth of understanding, and kindness move all of us. Connie Zweig led us through a profound exploration of The Inner Work of Age: Shifting from Role to Soul. She lifted up the archetypal transition from Hero to Elder or role to soul. We learned this begins by releasing the ego’s over-identification with doing and reorienting toward the transpersonal center Jung called the Self. REFERENCES:Donald KalschedConnie Zweig LOOK & GROW⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join THIS JUNGIAN LIFE DREAM SCHOOL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Do you have a topic you want us to cover?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WE NEED YOUR HELP! Become a patron to keep TJL running.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lisa’s leading a retreat in ITALY!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We've got totally NEW MERCH!⁠⁠⁠⁠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.

Sex fascinates us. Whether we turn toward it, flushed and excited or away from it, tense and disquieted. Archetypal images of sex adorn the thresholds of ancient temples and inform most mythological systems. Shiva and Shakti, in their union, create the universe – she’s providing all forms for his undifferentiated light. The gods beget gods as they mate, giving rise to infinite imagistic permutations of cosmic and personal qualities. These religious images of creation and pleasure inform our individual psyche granting sexuality a numinous intensity. Human culture shapes our initial attitudes toward sex. When infused with monotheistic religious feeling, sex is held as a sacrament subject to the rites and rituals believed to protect the couple from its overwhelming power and god’s jealous monitoring of the behavior. Polytheistic religions generated a multiplicity of god-forms and related myths to reflect a wide variety of possible relationships to sex and its outcomes. Pan, the lusty fertility god of the rut, Aphrodite the mistress of beauty and refined passion, Anteros the god of love returned, and Pothos, the god of sexual yearning – the infinite diversities of sexual expression, were held by related images and protectively tended by their devotees.With the age of enlightenment that inevitably led to the current juggernaut of science and empirical attitude, we disposed of the archetypal images of sex, driving them into our personal and collective shadow. Defenses like shame and resentment keep the gods of sex at bay. At war within our bodies, they cause genital tissue to ossify and choke off requisite blood flow. Freud was foremost in the battle to understand and liberate trapped sexual forces. As a neurologist, odd cases of functional disorders came to his attention – a patient who mysteriously could not feel a limb or a loss of sight without organic cause. His rigorous exploration of symptoms and personal narrative led him to a theory of psychosexual development which clarified how sexual energy, when thwarted, could lead to a host of mental and physical suffering or neurosis. Jung expanded the theory, suggesting there were many kinds of psychic energy, in addition to sex, that produced symptoms when trapped by unnatural attitudes or traumatic interference. He accepted the creative reality of sexuality and was an early champion of sexual diversity and self-determination.As moderns, we have tried to liberate sex by reducing it to a transaction, making it subordinary and thus non-threatening. Kinsey championed the natural fluidity of sexuality by surveying and analyzing personal erotic experiences and publishing them – he tried to restore consciousness to the diversity of sexual themes, hoping it would broaden modern attitudes and cultivate acceptance. The chorus of explainers now spans widely from biopsychosocial researchers to evolutionary psychologists, gender role theorists, to social constructionists. Add to that list theologists, talk show hosts, and podcasters, and we can all agree – we can’t seem to take our eyes off sex.LOOK & GROW⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join THIS JUNGIAN LIFE DREAM SCHOOL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Do you have a topic you want us to cover?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WE NEED YOUR HELP! Become a patron to keep TJL running.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lisa’s leading a retreat in ITALY!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We've got totally NEW MERCH!⁠⁠⁠⁠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.

Holiday homecomings kindle hopes of achieving a domestic ideal, though family gatherings are also likely to evoke old roles and emotions. Families open a portal into the patterns of the past, and unfinished business can cause repetition of disappointing dynamics as if one more replay will yield a different outcome. John Gottman, renowned interactive researcher, states that authentic relationships have more positive than negative interactions, creating an emotional bank account to draw on when difficulties arise. If relational deposits are low, it may be time to face the disappointing reality of what should have been and may never be. It’s time to start something new. We can engage the task of making a home within instead of seeking it from others. When we are at home with ourselves, we are free to enjoy relationships for what they have to offer.Complicated family dynamics are not modern affectations but part of the original fabric of human psyche. Fairy tales offer a wellspring of archetypal images that capture elements of collective experience curated over thousands of years. These stories help define universal problems and offer attitudinal solutions. For example, Nordic tales frequently include trolls that embody unrestrained primal instincts that disrupt the peace, make uncivilized demands, and, once sated, return to the wilderness, often with a promise to return. The Norwegian tale, The Cat on the Dovrefell, helps us understand how we collude with disruptive holiday dynamics and what might be required to keep them at bay.From the ancient wellspring of fairytales to the insightful observations of current researchers, one thing remains constant – challenging dynamics constellate when families gather for the holidays, requiring accurate recognition and skillful intervention. With this in hand, we might artfully disrupt old family patterns and bring forward the warm experiences of love and connection we hope for.LOOK & GROW⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join THIS JUNGIAN LIFE DREAM SCHOOL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Do you have a topic you want us to cover?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WE NEED YOUR HELP! Become a patron to keep TJL running.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lisa’s leading a retreat in ITALY!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We've got totally NEW MERCH!⁠⁠⁠⁠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.

Dive into the fascinating portrayals of therapists in film and TV, from heroic to villainous characters like Deanna Troi and Nurse Ratched. Explore the complex dynamics of therapy on screen, revealing both the vulnerabilities of therapists and the profound connections they form with clients. Unpack gripping narratives, such as a therapist's dangerous relationship with a serial killer, and the impact of humor in healing. The discussion also weaves in themes of identity, artistic struggle, and the emotional challenges faced by young creatives. A captivating exploration of therapy's reflection in popular media!