Welcome to Jungstop
There is a growing hunger in the world, a hunger not of the body but of the soul. Materially satisfied…
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An Ode to Bob Dylan
An Ode to Bob Dylan This is the song of Bob Dylan, smoking a cig, leanin’ back and chillin’, a…
Democracy on Life Support
(sound of ventilator turning/merging into human voice) …goes the mechanical lung;trying to keep a soul from stepping off the last…
Egocentricity and the Psychology of Donald Trump
This post explores the psychology of Donald Trump from a depth psychology perspective. Trump’s behavior offers a clear example of…
Why Character Counts: The Case of Donald Trump
“Character counts.” It’s a statement you encounter every so often. Sometimes you see it on bumper stickers or grade school…
The Coronavirus as Psychopath
A 30-year-old man dreamed:I was hanging out or planning to hang out with Gary Gulman (comedian). I was at the…
Healing is a Journey Into the Unknown
Sharing his observations on where people in tribal societies look to find their healers, Carl Jung writes:What happens regularly is…
Take It to the Crowd
Chorus: You have a voice that longs to be set free.Take it to the crowd, take it to the crowd,…
A Divine Drama Plays Through Us
Watching a military battle scene re-enactment recently, I pondered what it is that allows soldiers to knowingly run into the…
Completing the Tapestry of Your Life
“I think my late 70’s would be a good time to die,” she said and then reasoned, “In your 70’s…
Face Your Inner Racist
Through protest and social media you made your standpoint known,And you imagine that you’ve done something…not much, it will be…
Malignant Egocentricity
Malignant egocentricity is a term that aptly describes the psychology of many dictators, dictator wannabes, and sometimes even people like…
Return of the Pharisees
You say you praise the life of Jesus, yet o’er his grave your ego trods.Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s…
Of Freud, Jung and the Law
The perspective that the law and religious precepts arise solely from and primarily serve the interests of those in power…
Alchemy of the Coronavirus
Separatio is a term drawn from alchemy and used to describe the process by which one substance is separated from…
Coagulatio and Democratic Socialism
Coagulatio is an alchemical term used by Carl Jung to describe a stage in the cycle of psychological development. To…
United States: Home of the Clean Butt People
Most of us have heard the old adage that “adversity builds character.” But some, offering a new twist to this…
Do We Choose Our Parents Before We Are Born?
There is a belief shared by many psychics that we choose our parents before we are born. The thinking goes…
Flaws in the Law (of Attraction)
The Law of Attraction (LOA), popularized in the movie, The Secret, is a metaphysical postulate that holds significant influence in…
The Gift of Faith
Faith has a bad connotation nowadays. For many people, faith implies a blind allegiance to spiritual assertions that are deemed…
Follow Your Moral Compass
Patricia (not her real name) was a bright and industrious young woman who had worked her way up to a…
Dangers in Old Age
In his book, The Alchemy of Healing: Psyche and Soma, Edward C. Whitmont, M.D., describes research done on a primitive…
Mindfulness for Dogs
What follows is a verbatim conversation I had with my dog, Ruby, regarding mindfulness: Me: Ruby, I’ve come up with…
Your Soul’s Code
Some argue that there is no spiritual reality or background to our material world. And from this it follows that…
The PC Gestapo and the Death of Humor
A frequent casualty of the Politically Correct (PC) movement is one of the most valuable and healing gifts of the…
Hoarding: A Jungian Perspective
To my knowledge Carl Jung never directly addressed the topic of hoarding. However, the following paragraph (in italics), which I…
Life is Courageous
A difficult struggle many people face involves finding the courage to really live and love again following the loss of…
The Importance of Ego Strength
Ego strength is a psychological term referring to the ability to withstand psychological and emotional tension without regressing to less…
When the Psyche Knocks, Let It In
In the song he popularized, Keep A-knockin, Little Richard sings of love spurned: Keep a-knockin’ but you can’t come in.Keep…
Tune in to the Voice of Your Inner Self
A woman in her 70’s had an alcoholic son whom she often bailed out of trouble. She dreamed: I am…
The Hunter Becomes the Hunted
A man who used to hunt rattlesnakes related to me some of his hunting experiences. He said that one way…
Mine The Gold in Your Life
A man in his early 70’s dreamed: I’m in a convenience store going to fill my coffee mug when I…
The Woman Who Dreamed She Was a Man
A 34 year-old woman dreamed: I dreamt I died, but really I was still alive, only I had a man’s…
The Gift of a Child’s Perspective
A man in his mid-twenties dreamed: I’m sitting at a long board-room table at a meeting with another man and…
Become a Problem to Yourself
Lucky is the individual who has become a problem to himself. This is a paraphrase of a sentiment expressed by…
The ESP Egg and the Ways of the Psyche
In her groundbreaking book on parapsychology, Louisa E. Rhine shares the story of a Colorado man who was recuperating from…
The Paradox of Addiction
One of the more difficult things for people to grasp in this age of rational materialism is the reality that…
Follow the Path That’s Meant for You
“Protect the plants, stay on the path” a Reno trail sign reads. Viewed literally, the sign asks that hikers not…
Through Dialogue the Psyche Lives
A man dreamed: I’m in a basement room playing some type of ball game with my son. There is an…
Serve Your Soul and Everything Else Falls in Place
Carla was a young woman who had a compulsive need to be liked, to be popular, and be approved of.…
What Endures the Passage of Death
Shortly before her death an older woman living in Europe dreamed: I have packed two suitcases, one with my working…
Twilight Dreams for the Twilight Years
A woman in her mid-sixties had the following dream: Tom (my former boyfriend) and I were riding our bikes on…
A Window between Two Worlds
A woman approaching death dreamed she entered an immaculate room of marble flooring. She walks around an empty chair that…
Usury of the Soul
The bible talks about usury in very negative terms. To commit usury is to take advantage of people through interest…
Building a Soul House
A middle-aged man who was on a journey of self-growth through psychotherapy dreamed that a house was being built. It…
Encountering God Through Dreamwork
“I feel things are coming together,” a client told me recently. “Something is speaking to me and I want to…
The Cornerstone of Your Life
A retired teacher had the following dream: I found myself at a party for retired teachers at my former school.…
The Soul Transcends Death
In her book, On Dreams and Death, Jungian psychologist Marie-Louis von Franz shares the nearing death dream of a woman…
The Dreams of a Dying Woman, Part V
One challenge in determining if a particular dream relates to the approaching death of the dreamer is the fact that…
The Dreams of a Dying Woman, Part IV
About 3½ months before her death and 1½ months before her diagnosis of cancer, a woman in her early 70’s…
The Dreams of a Dying Woman, Part III
Lila (not her actual name) is a woman in her early 70’s who had a number of dreams that hinted…
The Dreams of a Dying Woman, Part II
In the previous post I shared the dreams of a woman in her early 70’s who was dying of cancer.…
The Dreams of a Dying Woman, Part I
Dreams can be difficult to interpret. This is not just because they speak a language of images and symbols, but…
Of Healing, Wholeness, and Cures
When you are dealing with symptoms, especially annoying and irritating ones, you may want to be cured. You want the…
“Arrival” and the Unconscious
In the movie Arrival, twelve space crafts are positioned by an alien race over different countries of the world. The…
The Lonely Alchemist
Alchemy was the “science” of trying to turn base metals, such as lead, into gold. Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung studied…
Addressing the Problem of Evil, Part VI: The Role of Humor
Patient (anxiously): “Doc, am I gonna die?! Doctor: “Believe me, that’s the last thing you’re gonna do.” They say that…
Addressing the Problem of Evil, Part V
When you have been hurt or taken advantage of, when evil has gotten one over on you, there is a…
Addressing the Problem of Evil, Part IV
In the second article of this series I described evil as a force that “corrodes and eats away at the…
Addressing the Problem of Evil, Part III: The Shadow
The previous articles in this series discussed the importance of giving some account to the reality of evil. If we…
Addressing the Problem of Evil, Part II
An important first step in addressing the problem of evil involves the definition or description you give to it. From…
Addressing the Problem of Evil, Part I
This article is the first in a series addressing the topic of evil. It is important for all people, I…
The Arrogant Daughter Syndrome
I have observed an interesting phenomenon in my psychotherapy practice the past few years. It involves single, older women who…
The Soul Leads Us Where We Need to Be
“I didn’t sign on for this,” goes the sometimes humorous response of people who find themselves in a situation they’d…
The Importance of Taking Your Spiritual Life Seriously
The night before his first psychotherapy session to address marriage and spirituality issues, a man dreamed: I am on a…
A Time to Kill and a Time to Heal: Wrestling with Addiction
There is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven…A time to kill, and a time to…
The Right Person, in the Right Place, at the Right Time
Have you ever done a “good deed” only to find out it harmed more than it helped? Perhaps you lent…
Leaving the Mainstream: A Dream
A woman in her 70’s dreamed: “I’m getting off of a tour bus that has come to a halt on…
Encountering the Angry Woman: A Dream
A woman in her thirties struggled with bouts of depression and anger. Her anger seemed to have a life of…
The Problem of Egocentricity and the Wisdom of A.A.
It is a fundamental rule of the psyche that if the ego does not serve the Self, or God, it…
Further Thoughts on Synchronicity
Synchronicity is an acausal but meaningful co-occurrence of events. It names and recognizes the fact that certain inner states or…
A Dog and the Afterlife
Within a week of the death of our much-loved dog, Kody, my wife and son had dreams of him. Susan…
The Sands of Time
The older I get the faster time seems to progress. The holiday season is fast approaching and it seems like…
Of “Burning Man” and Transformation
The crowning moment of the annual Burning Man festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert is the setting afire of a…
Two Lives: the Ego and the Soul
You have two lives in this life: the life of your ego and the life of your soul. The life…
Therapy and the Calling to Excel
You were troubled and unhappy and so you sought therapy. Maybe you were depressed or couldn’t sleep. Maybe you were…
Through Brokenness, Salvation
Broken: not working; in need of repair. Broken has a bad connotation. Things that are broken are often thrown out.…
Discover the Vision that Brought You Here
It’s important to have a vision, a picture of what the future can be, and what you can be. A…
Darby, The Girl who Feeds Crows
Darby is an 8 year-old girl from Seattle who at the age of 4 started leaving food for the crows…
Sitting out the Game of Life
Some people choose not to participate in the game of life. They find it easier to sit in the stands–or…
Processed American Cheese: Debates and the Media
Processed American cheese. Who knows what it’s made of, but it comes in convenient, individually-wrapped slices. It passes for cheese…
Pop Warner: Football Trickster
Pop Warner is a name associated with youth football throughout the United States. Many, if not most, high school, college…
Serve the Mansion Owner: a Dream
A man shared the following recurring dream: I am at my parent’s house. It is the mansion they owned after…
You’ve Gotta’ Have Balls
Danny was a basketball prodigy. He was tall, athletic, and had a natural passion for the game. He played on…
The Psyche is a Yowling Cat
We have a 17 year-old cat by the name of Mitzi. In the past couple of years she has developed…
Honoring the Roots of Your Own Being
Are you familiar with grafted plants? Nowadays most cultivated roses, fruit and ornamental trees have been grafted. In grafting, a…
Through Weakness, Strength
In the Indiana Jones film, “The Last Crusade,” Dr. Jones must choose from a number of chalices the one used…
The Shadow in the Night
Bizarre skid marks on morning pavement, greet me on my way to work. Bent guard rail and black scuffed curbs,…
The Dominion of the Psyche
My neighbor’s black and white cat, Beanie, knows no boundaries, at least not the ones we humans adhere to such…
Let Go to Move Forward
There is a chair on interstate 580 South, between Reno and Carson City, Nevada. I know because I passed it…
The Power of Opposites in Psychological Growth
One thing I’ve learned in building fires over the years is that adding a cold log to a dwindling fire…
A Young Woman’s Experience with Archetypal Evil
A 24 year-old woman experienced the following events, which I am fortunate to share in her own words: In the…
Don’t Hang with the Dead
There is an old Masonic cemetery in Virginia City, Nevada, with gravestones dating back to the first residents of this…
Don’t Beat Your Snakes
Are you afraid of snakes? If you are, you are not alone. Snakes are strange creatures—no arms, legs, or other…
Chairman of the Bored
How do you make decisions? Are you the “decider,” as George W. Bush once referred to himself? Do you have…
Got your Oprah Glasses on?
Got your Oprah glasses on, and your Eckhart Tolle reader, your immersed within the present, and you’re feeling all that…
Do It God’s Way
On the battlefield, bullets whizzing past my ears, a war which I created through rebelliousness and obstinance. Chaos reigns supreme…
God Trumps All Odds
Tom didn’t think he would be able to get a job. At age 58, with graying hair and a noticeable…
Some Thoughts on Life After Death
Does life continue after death? I would say that not only does it continue, in some cases it moves even…
Help Your Shadow Make You Whole
Just as Alice tumbled down the rabbit hole and encountered a whole new world, so you will someday descend the…
The Symbolism Behind Promiscuity
A woman dreamed, I am with my daughter, Sarah, in a large underground cavern. The area seems suffused with daylight,…
Of Vultures, Death and Rebirth
Vultures gathered in a tree, Two more circle overhead, Riding currents I can’t see, Raise the spirits of the dead.…
Wandering Roots Search for the Soul
Wandering roots searching for gold penetrate deeper into the cold, dark, moist earth and the unknown, down to the bedrock…
Life’s Second Half: The Adventure Inward
“…we cannot live the afternoon of life according to the programme of life’s morning–for what was great in the morning…
Jungian Psychology Series: The Game of Life
Just as the first dream we remember from childhood can be very significant, often hinting at our destiny and the…
A Dream about Death and Transition
On the night following the death of her friend, Carl, a woman had the following three-part dream: “I see Carl…
A Lucky Destiny
On Lake Superior one night, far away from the lights of the shoreline homes, the moon rose out of the…
Share Generously Your Gifts
A man dreamed, “I discover a hidden compartment in my wallet. There is a lot of money there. I am…
Doing it God’s Way
To do it God’s way, or not do it God’s way, that is the question. It is important to choose…
Gambling in the Second Half of Life
For many people at midlife, perhaps especially those who are retired, gambling can be an extremely seductive—and destructive—activity. The ending…
Jungian Psychology Series: Psychology’s New God
Although cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has been around for several decades, its exalted status within the fields of psychology, medicine, and…
Getting Closer to Your Home
Like most of us, Cheryl was searching. She was searching to find herself, her “home.” But she got lost along…
The Mockery of Love
As you move through life you will encounter people who make a mockery of love. They won’t come out and…
Jungian Psychology Series: Outgrowing Your Problems
“The greatest and most important problems in life are all fundamentally insoluble. They can never be solved, but only outgrown.” …
Peripheral Vision: The Importance of Intuition
A karate teacher I know used to give the following advice to his students: “If you are sparring with another…
Running from God
Have you been running from God? Have you been running from the reality that life knows you, life sees you,…
Jungian Psychology Series: The Importance of Instincts in Spirituality
“Anyone who overlooks the instincts will be ambuscaded by them.” Carl Jung The human brain is among the most developed…
Where the Food of our Soul is Found
After a gentle rain last night robins and blue jays are in my backyard turning over leaves and tilling the…
Fending Off the Winter Blues
Winter tends to be a time of cold and snow, leafless trees and shortened days. Some people are especially sensitive…
Projection and Misdirected Helpfulness
Thomas is a young man who wants to change the world, wants to make it a better place. He can’t…
Jungian Psychology Series: Avoiding the Psychopath
You live in the age of the psychopath. In this age the values of love, honesty, commitment and integrity are…
Zombies in Everyone
In recent years zombies have become an increasingly popular theme in movies, television, and literature. From what I can tell,…
Jungian Psychology Series: The Importance of Being Grounded
We use the word “grounded” in many different ways. From a psychological perspective, to be grounded means that we are…
Stillness in Motion
Stillness in motion: like the center of a spinning record, the axis of the earth, or the body of a…
Is God a Blind and Sleeping Slug?
Is God a blind and sleeping slug, an unconscious and amoral being whose only eyes are the eyes of man?…
When God’s Response is Silence
When you talk to someone you usually expect them to respond. You want a reply and feel it rude if…
The Evolution of the Soul
“Were it not a fact of experience that supreme values reside in the soul, psychology would not interest me in…
Therapy as an Invitation to Excel
You were troubled and unhappy and so you sought therapy. Maybe you were depressed or couldn’t sleep. Maybe you were…
The Moral Autonomy of the Psyche
In his book, The Eternal Drama, Jungian psychologist Edward F. Edinger shares the dream of a man who was contemplating…
Ecclesiastes and Inner Work
“To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” So begins the famous bible…
The Soul House
A woman dreamed, “I am in a log cabin in the woods. It seems like I’m near Lake Tahoe. There…
The Geography of the Soul
Every soul has its own geography, the place it’s meant to be, where it feels most at home, most alive,…
For the Psychopath, Life is a Game Without Rules
Life does not evolve by itself. Evil evolves with it. Wherever there is a surplus or wealth of life, a…
The Puzzle of Life
Have you noticed how some things in your life come effortlessly, and other things, despite all your efforts, don’t seem…
Are You Called to be a Therapist?
People experience their calling to become psychotherapists in a variety of ways. This article presents several examples and then looks…
Gambling and Spirituality
What is it that makes gambling so addictive? What strange force makes otherwise rational people wager their car, house, or…
The Necessary Crime
A woman committed a crime, but it was not until later that evening that she heard the dreaded knock upon…
The Pseudo-morality of the Psychopath
The rationalizations of the psychopath are cunning and deceptive. A man who was raised in a family of crime recalled…
Jungian Psychology Series: Understanding Synchronicities
Synchronicity is a concept developed by the Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung. It refers to a meaningful connection between events that…
Reflections on Fall
We often think of Fall as a time of harvest; the season in which we gather up, store up, and…
See the Connections in Your Life
It is important to see connections, to see the relationship between events. Whether that relationship is causal or synchronistic, seeing…
The Miser and the Soul
Are you a miser towards your soul? Do you offer it only the crumbs from your table, the loose change…
Jungian Psychology Series: Our Wounds are a Portal to God (part IV)
A man dreamed: “I see a soft bluish light emitted from wounds and sores on someone’s body. I’m to understand…
Carl Jung and God’s Secret Intentions
In a letter, Carl Jung once wrote, “I consciously and intentionally made my life miserable because I wanted God to…
The Trickster and the Sign (part II)
Zeus was the central god of Greek mythology, and Hermes was his messenger. If Zeus had something to tell mankind,…
The Trickster and the Sign (part I)
A male college student was struggling in his choice of careers. What he had in abilities he lacked in direction.…
Jungian Psychology Series: Our Wounds are a Portal to God (part III)
“Hello darkness my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again.” (Simon and Garfunkel, The Sounds of Silence) It is sometimes…
The Other Side of a Dream
Death is a place on the other side of a dream. It is just outside the window, just across a…
Jungian Reflections on the Persona
Your persona is the role that you play in social settings. It is how you want to be known or…
Chronology of the Soul
Betty is 82 years-old and developing dementia. The clock that hangs on the wall of her room kept dropping its…
Jungian Psychology Series: Our Wounds are a Portal to God (part II)
My last article in this series introduced readers to the work of Arnold Mindell, A Jungian-trained psychologist who has developed ways…
The Importance of Timing
A young blue jay clung to the branch of the oak tree outside my window, wrestling a still-green acorn from…
There is Always Hope for the Hungry Soul
Has life lost its meaning? There are a lot of discouraged people in the world. They have stopped trying, stopped…
Your Problems Must be Outgrown
Speaking on the subject of recurring psychological struggles, Carl Jung once noted that, “we don’t solve our problems, we outgrow…
Jungian Psychology Series: Our Wounds are a Portal to God (part I)
“A terrifying symptom is usually your greatest dream trying to come through.” Arnold Mindell, PhD When people draw a connection…
Living Life God’s Way
Have you had enough of the ego’s way? Are you tired of the boredom, loneliness, depression and anxiety that characterize…
Don’t Fear the Reaper
A woman dreamed, “Some women are picking out drab and uninspiring clothes for me to wear. I would feel pretty…
Summers of Growth
For plants and animals summer is a time of quickened growth and development. The flowers of spring become the seeds,…
Finding God in Dis-ease
“Show me a sane man and I will cure him for you.” Carl Jung The developmental goal of youth and…
Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway
“Feel the fear, and do it anyway,” let this be your motto.* When there is something you feel called to…
The Paradox of Evil
Evil is paradoxical. It can snuff out a life in the blink of an eye, yet it challenges you to…
Your Soul Knows
There is a part of you that knows. It knows who you really are, and it knows when you are…
Jungian Psychology Series: Paranoia
“Paranoia strikes deep Into your life it will creep It starts when you’re always afraid Step out of line, the…
Some Thoughts on Cluelessness
Clueless: to be without a clue. You’ve probably known someone that you’d describe as clueless. Of course, we’re all pretty…
Who Are You?
“Who are you?!” sings Roger Daltry of The Who. It’s a good question to ask yourself every now and then.…
Even in Darkness God is Present
In times of spiritual trial you may question the meaning, purpose, and value of your life. You may feel empty,…
Jungian Psychology Series: Dreams and the Afterlife (part II)
In In part I of this series I shared a number of dreams in which the dreamers felt they had witnessed…
The Dilemma of Being Children of God
We are all children of God. But we are also children of the world, for this is where God planted…
Let Your Detractors Help You Become Strong
It is the last half of the ninth inning and John is trying to preserve a one run lead with…
Jungian Psychology Series: Dreams and the Afterlife (part I)
“Life has always seemed to me like a plant that lives on its rhizome. Its true life is invisible, hidden…
Rejuvenating the Soul
The bluesman said, “The soul of the modern American wanders through a desert in search of water, while his ego…
Climbing the Inner Mountain
It seems we all have a mountain to climb. It is the mountain of our soul, our destiny, our life’s…
Live Big, Love Big
Too often you get used to living small when you ought to be living big. For whatever reason you decide…
Jungian Psychology Series: Ego, God and Destiny
“Why do these philosophers pretend that God is an idea, a kind of arbitrary assumption which they engender, when its…
Panning the Gold that lies Within
Although the Sierra Nevada gold rush played itself out some 150 years ago, opportunities to harvest gold still abound. There…
Behind the Eyes is the Soul
Behind your eyes lies the soul. And the eyes may see one thing but the soul sees another. Behind the…
Evil Never Sleeps
It is easy to forget that there is a war going on. I don’t mean the wars in other countries.…
Jungian Psychology Series: Depression, Violence, and Social Change
“Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happiness would lose its meaning if…
Becoming an Individual
It is not easy to be an individual. You face pressures in life—from family, peers, or society—to think in certain…
Life has no Neutral
When life reaches out and grabs you, go with it. Your future awaits and it doesn’t take kindly to being…
Sometimes We All Need a Bigger Boat
“You’re gonna need a bigger boat” warned the police chief to the old fisherman in the movie Jaws. He had…
Jungian Psychology Series: Growing Through Depression
“When we must deal with problems, we instinctively resist trying the way that leads through obscurity and darkness. We wish…
Co-Creation
A man dreamed: “I see a large stone cylinder. It reminds me of an old sharpening wheel in shape only…
The Dark Side of Environmental Zealotry
A young woman attended a “green” concert recently. The three-day extravaganza of music and ecology-oriented vendors drew thousands of college-age…
Can the Ego Praise God?
The soloist sang with technical perfection as her voice danced nimbly from octave to octave. Her volume, gestures, and facial…
Jungian Psychology Series: Consciousness and the Problem of the Shadow
Just as the projection of one’s shadow (the disowned part of our personality) is a fundamental process in the psychology…
Knowing God Like a River
A man dreamed, “I am with some people who have a large machine, maybe ¼ acre in size. It moves…
George Bush and Saddam Hussein: Solemates Forever!
Shoes are interesting things. Sometimes they can tell you a lot about a person. A professional tracker, for instance, can…
Failing Your Way to God
“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to…
Harnessing the Fires of Transformation
Have you ever tried to bake a loaf of bread with the oven door wide open? Probably not. You know…
A Jungian Look at the Winchester Mystery House
Have you ever had a dream in which you were trying, unsuccessfully, to find your way out of a large…
Gift of the Wound
I There is an old apple tree outside my office. Each spring she wears a dress of fragrant white blossoms.…
A Tidal Wave of Lies
It seems we have entered the era of information overload. Our access to ideas, products, opinions, and research has grown…
Jungian Psychology Series: Consciousness (part II)
Some people who experience a stroke–the loss of blood flow to part of the brain–lose the vision and physical sensations…
The Importance of Going Over Edges
“I drink to take the edge off” a client once told me. “It relieves the anxiety and tension that accumulates…
Living by the Curve
I have never really been a fan of grading on a curve. It has always seemed to me that a…
Respect the Psyche and Become More Whole
Analytical thinking is the backbone of science and a key attribute setting us apart from other animals. The gifts it…
Destiny in the Life of a Football Player
An 11 year-old boy was given the homework assignment of writing a letter to his future self. He wrote: “I’m…
The Devil Prefers Linearity
At the Japanese Garden of the Chicago Botanical Gardens there is an odd shaped bridge. It consists of two large,…
To Hang On or Let Go: Reflections on Separation
Separation is an important process in life. We separate the wheat from the chaff in order to make flour, and…
Jungian Psychology Series: Psychological Inflation
In the story of King Midas, everything the king touches turns to gold. At first this seems like a boon,…
The Psychological Wisdom of ‘Groundhog Day’
They say that if the groundhog sees his shadow on Groundhog Day, there will be another six weeks of winter.…
Jungian Psychology Series: Consciousness (part I)
As the gatekeeper of consciousness, the ego has a profound effect upon the expression and health of the larger personality.…
Care of Your Soul
“Care of the soul” is a phrase you don’t hear too often. Its heyday was in the 1800’s and before…
Nothing Changes if Nothing Changes
Sarah thought that knowing the solution to a problem was the same thing as solving it. “I know I need…
Participation Mystique in Football
Have you ever been in a group of people and noticed changes in your attitudes or perspective that seem inconsistent…
Jungian Psychology Series: Teach Your Children Well
“Nothing has a stronger influence psychologically on their environment and especially on their children than the unlived life of the…
Every Life has a Porpoise
A woman who was feeling disconnected from her soul had the following dream: “I see a porpoise, but it’s on…
Looking for God in all the Wrong Places
There’s a country song that talks about “Looking for love in all the wrong places, looking for love in too…
Little Bugs, Big Messages
A young woman who was addicted to drugs developed a paranoia about bugs. Although she had some reason to be…
Jungian Psychology Series: Children’s Dreams (part II)
My last article in this series (12/12/13) pointed out that a major psychological task of childhood is the development of…
A Jungian Look at the Sucker
“W.C. Fields once said, ‘Never give a sucker an even break.’ Most people hear that and think it’s just some…
What We Refuse from Within Comes at Us from Without
It is interesting how outer life communicates the messages of the soul. Arthur was a man who lived in the…
Be an Individual, not a Clone
Have you ever seen a section of forest laid flat by the wind? This happens sometimes, all the trees pointing…
Jungian Psychology Series: Children’s Dreams (part I)
The previous articles of this series examined different aspects of the psyche and their representation in our dreams. This article…
A Jungian Perspective on the Movie, Duel
“Well, you never know…you just never know. You just go along figuring some things don’t change ever, like being able…
The Psyche as Mirror
Treat the psyche with love and you will receive its support and nourishment in return. Run from it and it…
The Chemistry of Spiritual Images
Spiritual images and themes are like chemicals, if they aren’t put together in the right way disaster can result. Most…
Jungian Psychology Series: Animals (part II)
The last article in this series examined how the animals that appear in our dreams sometimes function as symbols of…
Riding the Wave of Perpetual Newness
There is a certain exhilaration that comes from something new: a new car, a new interest or hobby, a new…
Snake on the Water
It was a bright sunny day on a Wisconsin lake whose name I have forgotten. I was sitting in an…
Jungian Psychology Series: Animals (part I)
The last article in this series examined the Self. The Self is the spiritual core and regulating center of the…
The Sacredness of Dangerousness
“Before my father died, he said that the worst thing about growing old was that other men stopped seeing you…
The Pearl of Great Price: Your Soul
Has your soul been taken from you? Did you lose it in a dare? Is it locked within a dungeon?…
The Adult Attention Deficit Craze
Every few years or so it seems that a new mental illness comes into vogue. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)…
Jungian Psychology Series: The Self
The last article in this series looked the anima and animus. The anima is the feminine side of a man’s…
Live by Society, Die by Society
They say that those who live by the sword die by the sword. To this we can add, those who…
The Suffering Soul
Psychopathy is marked by the disconnection and adversarial attitude of the ego towards the soul. Such an ego lacks genuine…
The Importance of Your Fournancial Development
A woman who needed to make an important decision regarding a monetary investment had the following dream. A man says…
Jungian Psychology Series: The Anima and Animus
My last article in this series examined the shadow. As its name suggests, the shadow is that part of our…
The Patterns in Your Life
1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34…Can you figure out the pattern in this series of numbers? It is…
Your Hidden Black Swan-ness
Are you an “average Joe”? And, if so, how do you know? Perhaps you could be quite out-of-the-ordinary, if you…
Discouragement: The Other Silent Killer
Over the years heart disease has been dubbed “the silent killer.” But there is another disease of the heart which…
Jungian Psychology Series: The Shadow
The shadow is the term developed by Carl Jung to describe the rejected and disowned aspects of one’s personality.
A Jungian Perspective on the Origin of Gold
New research shows that precious metals form from the collision of two neutron stars. A similar type of process is…
Truth in Advertising
I recently viewed a television commercial for Kraken Black Spiced Rum. The ad depicts a male figure on a wooden…
Jungian Psychology Series: The Persona
The first article in this series examined the ego, Carl Jung’s term for the conscious mind. The ego gives us…
Jungian Psychology Series: The Ego
The ego is your conscious mind, or conscious identity. It is symbolized in dreams by the person of the dreamer…
The Magic Penny and the Abundance of the Soul
There is a song I learned as I child called “The Magic Penny.” The song goes “love is like a…
Respect the Psyche
A woman dreamed: “My close friend and I are standing on a river bank watching her husband water ski. He…
Light and Myth in Daily Life
Prometheus brought light to humanity and was punished for it. Light is a symbol of consciousness, and growth in our…
Inner Civil Rights
Dreams of oppression and protesting often symbolize the need to address egocentricity so as to provide greater expression to the…
Knowing God
The bible story of Jonah and the whale helps us understand the reality of destiny and its activity in our…
The Necessary Risk of Irrational Risk
Some risks make sense; they are fairly safe, reasonable, or logical. But other risks are gambles we are asked to…
The Psyche Speaks
We are part of the psyche like a cell is part of the body. We are meant to assist the…
The Psychology and Value of Emotional Containment
In order to grow as people, we must learn to harness our emotions, contemplate them, learn from them, express them…
Depressing Depression Therapy
Conventional ways of treating depression often focus on ignoring the dark and embracing the light: “think just positive thoughts.” But…
The Life You Live is the Life You Get
No need to wait for karma. The quality of your life goes hand-in-hand with the quality of your relationship with…
The Psychology of a Viagra Ad
According to a Viagra commercial I recently saw, we are in “the age of getting things done.” The advertisement shows…
Spiritual Development and the Heart of Gold
Neil Young’s song “Heart of Gold” offers an opportunity to reflect on what is most important in life. You can…
The Spirit is Still Moving
The vision and mission of the Sixties is still with us, still remains to be achieved. The work is less…
Watering the Soul
Why did Jim feel the urge to water the boulder in hisback yard? Jungian psychology can be useful in helping…
God’s Signs
Life gives us signs which guide us to our unique path and spiritual fulfillment. Pay attention; learn the language of…
The Value of Your Life
To Love yourself and, indirectly, to love others, is to care enough to become the unique individual you were created…