This Jungian Life Podcast

DREAM WITH US, and we’ll teach you how to interpret them!⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Dr. Fanny Brewster, Jungian Analyst, colleague and friend, joins This Jungian Life to discuss her forthcoming book, The Racial Complex: A Jungian Perspective on Culture and Race. Complexes tend to operate autonomously and unconsciously, have strong feeling-tones, and contain archetypal fuel. The racial complex, a complicated mix of color, class and culture, operates individually and collectively and in multiple ways. Although shadow projection and “othering” are intrinsic to the racial complex, America’s history of slavery further intensifies it. Like other complexes, the racial complex cannot be either denied or defeated—it can, however, be lifted into consciousness. As with any complex, learning, discussion and self-reflection can expand awareness, connection and compassion.  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.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We've got totally NEW MERCH!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠We’d like to take a crack interpreting your dream.⁠⁠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.

⁠DREAM WITH US, and we’ll teach you how to interpret them!⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠It happens all the time: people and problems split into opposing camps, whether the conflict is internal, between partners, in a family or—as we know all too well—between political parties. When positions become polarized conflict ensues, whether between mind and body, partners and families, or value systems and religious affiliations. What makes it possible to reach across the chasm between entrenched extremes? The Jungian concept of holding the tension of the opposites allows energy, like electricity, to flow between both poles; each can have its full say. Instead of remaining mired in fixity or moral judgment, curiosity may open the way for a new attitude that transcends the polarities. 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.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We've got totally NEW MERCH!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠We’d like to take a crack interpreting your dream.⁠⁠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.

Explore the profound impact of the father complex on personal development and relationships. Delve into how paternal absence shapes identity and societal norms, with historical examples like Jung's dynamic with Freud. Discover the transformative power of navigating these complex feelings and drawing inspiration from literary figures like Charlotte Brontë. The conversation also covers symbolic dreams, insights into masculinity's evolution, and the ways unconventional influences can lead to personal growth.

Anger is explored as a vital human emotion, revealing its cultural and political dimensions. The discussion highlights how gender influences the expression of anger, with women often facing unique internal struggles. The podcast emphasizes the transformative power of containment, illustrating how managing anger can lead to emotional growth. Insights on dreams show anger as a self-communicative tool, while the exploration of relationships highlights authenticity through acknowledging emotional responses. The journey through anger reflects deeper self-discovery and the complexities of our inner lives.

DREAM WITH US, and we’ll teach you how to interpret them!⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠People have reported experiences with ghosts from antiquity; Jung documented his encounters with mysterious sensed presences. How do we make meaning of such experiences? Are they visitations from external beings? Could they be related to unconscious reactions to toxic substances, auditory subtleties, or erratic electromagnetic fields? Neurological evidence links the stimulation of specific brain regions to feeling a ghostly presence. Stress, extreme hunger, physical hardship, loss, isolation, sleep deprivation, and mental illness also correlate to ghostly experiences, perhaps related to a lowered threshold of consciousness. Although there is no scientific proof of ghosts, age-old belief in soul survival extends credibility to the existence of ghosts. Jung offered no definitive answer to this question but felt that since the unconscious possesses subtle powers of perception it could project a visionary picture of a psychic situation. Ultimately, experiences of ghosts are, like dreams, psychic facts.  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.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We've got totally NEW MERCH!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠We’d like to take a crack interpreting your dream.⁠⁠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.

DREAM WITH US, and we’ll teach you how to interpret them!⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠The question of whether, when, and what psychoactive medications may be helpful is both big and ambiguous. Mental distress has always been strongly influenced by cultural filters and subjective perceptions. Whereas a person might once have sought to placate a god, sufferers today may turn to medical management rather than mining their psychological symptoms for meaning. In his autobiography Jung describes his years of mental turmoil—and that they became “the prima materia for a lifetime’s work”; his Red Book documents his encounters with the unconscious in compelling and artistic detail. There is much evidence of the potential suffering holds for self-awareness and psychological depth – and it is also important to acknowledge that judicious use of today’s medications can relieve unnecessary or pointless suffering. No matter where on the spectrum of severity emotional illness may lie, psychotherapy, medication, lifestyle, and relationships can all play a role in recovery and growth. 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.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We've got totally NEW MERCH!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠We’d like to take a crack interpreting your dream.⁠⁠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.

DREAM WITH US, and we’ll teach you how to interpret them!⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Empathy, the ability to feel into the suffering of another, is an intrinsic part of being human. We have such a capacity to imagine others’ experience that we react physiologically and emotionally to painful situations even in film. We are surprised, sometimes shocked, when the empathy we expect in a given situation is not forthcoming. Although empathic deficits create wounding, an overly empathic stance can also be problematic, fostering psychic stasis. Jung related empathy to the causal, or “mechanistic” aspect of analysis, in which painful past experiences are traced to their origin in order to more fully integrate feelings, expand consciousness, and depotentiate a complex. However, Jung also emphasized the “abstract,” or “final-energic” direction of traumatic experience, which is more objective and relates to achieving a state of equilibrium. We are thus asked to hold the tension between empathy for feelings—our own or another’s—and a more objective stance toward meaning, choice, and action. 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.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We've got totally NEW MERCH!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠We’d like to take a crack interpreting your dream.⁠⁠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.

The podcast dives into the emotionally charged process of terminating therapy, highlighting the complex feelings of both clients and therapists. It explores the importance of a collaborative farewell and the nuances of client empowerment. Unexpected endings, such as financial difficulties or relocation, bring their own challenges, adding layers to the emotional experience. Additionally, vivid dream analyses reveal deeper insights into the struggles of self-integration and personal growth, emphasizing the need to confront one's shadow for healing and connection.

The podcast explores the complexities of grief and bereavement, discussing the individual nature of grieving and the challenges of mourning someone with negative emotions. It delves into the transformative power of music and human connection in the face of grief and emphasizes the value of bereavement groups and storytelling for healing. The podcast also analyzes a dream and explores the symbolism of birds in dreams, highlighting the ambiguity and multiple interpretations of dreams in institutional settings.

DREAM WITH US, and we’ll teach you how to interpret them!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Medical technology has given the problem of fertility a scientific veneer. Our Promethean ability to manipulate gestational mysteries has wrested power from what was once the domain of the gods. Fulfillment of the promise of pregnancy seems to lie within reach, although it may entail incurring financial debt and enduring intense emotional cycles of desire, hope and disappointment. Holding the tension between the fire of psychic activation and physical incarnation is an age-old theme. Many fairy tales begin with a couple going to great lengths to fulfill their longing for a child, only to then confront the shadow aspects of desire. Human fertility is not limited to the physical gestation of a baby. Its essence, creativity and futurity, also includes ideas, energy, and goals. New life does not come from the conscious side of the personality alone.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.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠We've got totally NEW MERCH!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠We’d like to take a crack interpreting your dream.⁠⁠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.