“We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” ~ Joseph Campbell1
I was scheduled to return with a new episode of the podcast this week. Unfortunately, my plans were disrupted by sickness — a bug that smuggled itself into my household over the holidays. It has not been too serious, but bad enough to prevent me from recording and producing any new material.
So, here as a placeholder are a few episodes from the archives to fill the gap until I am able to resume regular programming next week.
Most Popular
S2, Ep. 20: To Become What One Is
This is one of the most listened to episodes of the past three years.
Jung describes individuation as the “urge to become what one is.”2 This statement seems simple enough on the surface, but the achievement of such an ideal is full of difficulties and pitfalls. It is the confrontation with these difficulties that is the focus of this Season-Two offering.
As I state in the episode:
In many ways, becoming what you are means becoming something of a stranger to yourself. It is not a destination that can be decided ahead of time and arrived at by following a prescribed path. We discover where we are going only when we arrive and we find the way there only by traveling it. “Traveller, there is no path,” writes the poet Antonio Machado. “Paths are made by walking.”3
Give it a listen:
In Need of Some Love
S1, Ep. 23: Approaching the Numinous
This is an episode that received some very good feedback when it was first released, but never really got much attention from subsequent listeners after that.
In one his letters, Jung once made the statement, “the approach to the numinous is the real therapy.”4 Clearly, he saw something healing in the experience of the power and autonomy of the religious dimension of human life — what has elsewhere been called the Holy. But, despite its healing potential, the numinous is not necessarily a “positive” experience. This contrasts with our usual notions of what makes something healing.
This episode digs into what the healing factor of such powerful experiences may be. In it I state:
And what both the religions and the poets know is that the way to meet the suffering of life is through meaning. And Jung agrees. It is through meaning that we are able to survive, to endure, and to grow from life’s trials. And it is to this end, rather than the elimination of difficulties, to which his approach to therapy is directed. As Jung states: “Meaninglessness inhibits fullness of life, and is therefore equivalent to illness. Meaning makes a great many things endurable — perhaps everything.”5
Take a listen:
Deep Cuts
S1, Ep. 14 - 16: Serving the Inner Life (Parts 1, 2, and 3)
This is one of my favorite series of episodes of the podcast to date. I explore a symbolic interpretation of the fairy tale The White Snake in detail over three separate episodes. Interestingly, the first episode in this series is one of the most popular of the podcast and the last episode is one of those that is in need of some love.
If you are in the mood for an extended exploration, check out the whole series. You can find it by clicking on the following links: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
Here is a quote from part 3:
Reflection is needed to be able to take up a conscious relationship to our own life. And more than that, our work to become conscious quite literally brings new values into the world. This is what gives the symbolic life its ultimate dignity. The work we do toward our own growth and transformation is not just done for ourselves. No matter how limited the sphere and the scale of our inner work may be, says Jung, nevertheless, it lays “an infinitesimal grain on the scales of humanity's soul.”6
Another Recommendation
Jungian analyst Jakob Lusensky produces a fascinating podcast called
. Recently, he published a short audio of a 1961 interview with C.G. Jung that is worth a listen. The audio is not very clear and it is often hard to make out what is being said, but regardless, there are some gems in this interview that make it worth it.Check it out here:
Thanks for listening and take good care.
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
A Joseph Campbell Companion (Edited by Diane K. Osbon)
C.G. Jung Speaking (Edited by William McGuire)
'Proverbs and Songs #29' — poem by Antonio Machado
Selected Letters by C.G. Jung
Memories, Dreams, Reflections by C.G. Jung
'The Practice of Psychotherapy’ in Collected Works, vol.16 by C.G. Jung