Throughout human history, prayer has been a constant. Jung referred to it as:
“not only one of the most original but also the most frequent means to change the condition of mind” (Carl Jung, Letters Vol. I, Page 558).
This week our guest, Jungian analyst ROBERT SHEAVLY, joins Lisa Marchiano and Deborah Stewart for a Jungian exploration of prayer and the psyche.
Everyone at some point in their lives will pray (even if we do not call it that). When we reach out for help, or to express gratitude for life’s blessings, we are reaching for a connection with the eternal and the infinite.
Prayer can be examined from the lens of the ego-self axis. When we pray, it can be understood as ego asking the guiding self for wisdom, from a position of humility and supplication.
Prayer is also linked to our mortality. It is integral to grief rituals. In desperate times, it gives us an act to perform that acknowledges our helplessness but also offers comfort. When we say grace at the dinner table, we offer expiation and acknowledgement of the life we’ve taken from the world in order to sustain our own life.
Here’s the dream we analyze
A Swan Falls: I’m in New York City with my husband where I am dependent on his knowledge of the city. Everything is white. I notice a cloud spattered with blood, and a white swan comes flying over us, fatally injured. As she falls toward us, a green and white airplane flies the other direction. It has clipped the swan’s body with its wing and in doing so, sustained damage itself and is unable to keep flying. I watch in horror as the plane loses altitude, too close to the city, flips over and falls down. Not a violent crash, there may still be survivors, but awful to witness.
Our Guest – Robert Sheavly
Robert Sheavly, LICSW, DCSW is a Jungian Analyst located in Washington, D.C., a senior training analyst with the Philadelphia Jung Institute and the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts (I-RSJA) and the Director of the Central Washington Psychotherapy Associates. He is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and holds a diploma in Analytical Psychology from the I-RSJA. Bob is Treasurer of the Philadelphia Association and the Jungian Analysts and of the Jungian Analysts of Washington Association (JAWA) and the former Director of Training for the Philadelphia Jung Institute. He is a former church organist and an avid choral singer performing regularly with the National Symphony Orchestra. He is also the author of Ensouling AIDS: The Archetypal Dimension of the LGBT Choral Experience.
Resources discussed in this episode
- William Nicholson “Shadowlands” (a play based on C.S. Lewis’ relationship with Joy Davidman).
- Rumi, “Love Dogs”.
- Ann & Barry Ulanov, Primary Speech: A Psychology of Prayer
Related episodes
If you enjoyed listening to our Prayer episode, you might also like:
