The latest episode of Digital Jung is now available:
You can probably tell by the title of this week's episode — Learning To Say ‘Yes’ — that it is a companion piece, of sorts, to the last episode — Learning To Say ‘No’.
At the end of that previous episode I made the statement that “a healthy ability to say ‘No’ becomes the doorway to a greater and a deeper ‘Yes.’” This statement, at its core, is the theme that lies at the heart of this week's offering. This time around, however, the ‘No’ takes the form, not of the need for a personal asceticism, but rather the encounter with pain and suffering.
Using the example of Jung’s own brush with death after he suffered a heart attack at the age of 69, I look at the way that such experiences have the power to bring about a renewal of life — what Jung, speaking of his own experience, calls “an unconditional ‘Yes’ to that which is.”
There is, of course, something paradoxical in this idea, that out of suffering can come the capacity for the affirmation of life. It points to the secret unity of light and dark, joy and sorrow, life and death. Though these seem like pairs of opposites, they are really twins. They belong together and complete each other. They make each other possible. If what we seek is a meaningful life, then we have to be ready to embrace the whole of life — the ‘Yes’ and the ‘No.’
As I say in the episode:
“One of Jung’s teachings is that meaning makes suffering endurable, but it is also true that sometimes suffering is a doorway into the experience of meaning.”
All of this points to the need for a religious attitude, a capacity to sense the sacred within all aspects of life, even the most mundane. This attitude, I point out, is one of opening ourselves more completely to experience.
In the episode I turn to a beautiful poem by Marie Howe that is a perfect illustration of the whole theme being explored. I also point out a perhaps surprising similarity between the 20th century psychologist Jung, and the 14th century anchoress and mystic Julian of Norwich.
I hope you enjoy this latest offering from Digital Jung. You can find it wherever you listen to your podcasts or simply by clicking this link: Learning To Say ‘Yes’
Thanks for listening, and take good care!
Remainders
This Rumi poem was a close contender for the symbolic interlude section of the podcast this week. Ultimately, I went with Marie Howe’s poem The Gate, but I couldn’t let the opportunity to share this pass by. That second verse, in particular, gets me in the gut every time I read it. Here it is in Coleman Bark’s lovely translation. Enjoy!
The way of love is not a subtle argument The door there is devastation. Birds make great sky-circles of their freedom. How do they learn it? They fall, and falling they're given wings.
Upcoming Events
The Symbol of the Grail: I will be returning to the Jung Archademy starting on Monday, March 3rd, 2023 for a deep dive into Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Parzival. In this class we will explore the rich symbolism of the Grail legend and discover the relevance of the Parzival myth to the modern experience of individuation. For more details visit: The Symbol of the Grail: Parzival and the Path of Individuation
As always, stimulating material. Thanks.