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Eavesdrop on Lisa, Deb, and Joseph as they engage in lively, sometimes irreverent conversations about a wide range of topics and dream analysis through the lens of depth psychology provided by Carl Jung.
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EMBRACING THE OUTCAST: Understanding Homelessness
Homeless symbolizes a state of disconnection, both externally and internally. It is a complex interplay between unconscious, personal experiences, and societal forces. Resolving displacement involves restoring a sense of security, belonging, and acceptance in the outer world and oneself.
It transcends the absence of physical shelter and ventures into spiritual and emotional displacement. It mirrors the alienation and dislocation experienced in a rapidly evolving society, where individuals feel lost amidst the tumultuous tides of change. In this symbolic homelessness, we recognize our collective vulnerability and insecurity. Homelessness is not a homogeneous phenomenon. It ranges from temporarily unsheltered individuals between jobs or homes to chronically homeless individuals who spend years or decades without stable housing. The psychological implications differ substantially across these spectrums and demand a nuanced understanding.
UGLY DUCKLING COMPLEX: the painful path of transformation
We all understand the Ugly Duckling complex because we lived it at one time or another. Hans Christian Anderson’s famous tale paints a poignant picture of a child’s experience of rejection only because he’s born in the wrong nest. People who seem different or have not yet matured into their natural beauty endure a kind of scorn that can bring them to despair. The ugly duckling’s capacity to endure and find refuge once he is recognized by fellow swans can hearten us during the long winters of our lives.
SHADOWS & HIGH STAKES: Understanding Gambling
Understanding gambling can help us navigate the treacherous currents of desire, risk, and reward that define our relationship with this capricious world. The enigmatic nature of gambling captivates our imagination, drawing us towards the hypnotic dance of fortune and chance. From ancient Mesopotamian ‘knucklebones’ to the neon-lit casinos of Las Vegas, its allure permeates human history. Together we’ll weave through the gambler’s psyche to unveil the psychospiritual underpinnings that draw us toward Lady Luck.
WHISKERS of WISDOM: A Jungian Analysis of Puss in Boots
Something about a cat wearing clothes has captured our imagination for over 500 years, so it’s about time we tackle a Jungian analysis of Puss in Boots. From fairytales in the Late Middle Ages to recent YouTube videos, people delight in dressing their pets in human garb and even more so when they adopt human behaviors. If a parrot squawks curse words, we giggle, and if a dog-bark sounds like a human phrase, we lean in with wonder. So perhaps the fairytale Puss in Boots can help us understand our creative urge to project essential aspects of psyche onto our animal companions.
ARCHETYPAL IMAGES: the soul’s language
If we envision archetypes as cosmic blueprints, then archetypal images are the tangible expressions that emerge from this transcendental plan. They are the houses built upon the foundation of archetypes, manifesting in a multitude of forms while remaining interconnected through their shared universal design. Separating archetypes and their imagery clarifies how one gives rise to the other yet remains distinct.
MEDUSA’S MANY FACES: the evolution of a myth
The symbolism of Medusa, one of the three Gorgon sisters in Greek mythology, has captivated and perplexed the imagination of artists, writers, and philosophers for centuries. Originally depicted as a monstrous creature with snakes for hair and the ability to turn onlookers to stone, Medusa has undergone a remarkable transformation.
THE DARK TRIAD: tracking wolves in our midst
Understanding the Dark Triad can help us navigate mysteriously troubled relationships in all spheres of life. Psychologists coined the term to describe a trifecta of malevolent personality traits: narcissism, machiavellianism, and psychopathy. Although less sinister than any one full-blown personality disorder, it still affects the soul plagued by it and those in reach of its host.
SYMBOLIC MEANING of HAIR: what’s your look saying?
In current times it is an expressive medium that each of us shapes to silently communicate our attitudes toward self and others. What do you want your hair to say? Heading out on the town with bed-head might display a carefree indifference to others’ judgments. A carefully quaffed style on prom night might say, “I’m a mature adult now.” Tracing hair’s influence helps us understand underlying psychological patterns that inform our understanding of this powerful symbol.
THE WHALE: a film about trauma, obesity, and the undying hope to connect.
We are born with the drive to connect meaningfully with our caregivers and the world around us. When that is thwarted by fate, deprivation, or misdeeds, our psyche rallies to save us. It redirects our instincts to the imaginal world where archetypal forces can care for us, and our intolerable feelings can be hidden in a cast of inner characters. We still long for compassionate connection, but the inner figures of our caregivers are intolerable, so sometimes the divine mother hides herself in food—and we follow.
PAN: the archetypal source of panic disorder
Piping through mountains and glens, the great god Pan carries the relentless procreative power of nature. Oldest of the gods, even the Olympians, he symbolizes the archaic level of psyche from which all wild instinct rises. Timeless and universal, his presence was venerated in fields and grottoes to sustain life against all odds, feared during war as his panic could undo even the Titans and attacked in the Common Era as the image of the devil.
CAN JUNG’S HOME WITHSTAND REPURPOSING?
It seems that an intrepid consortium of impact investors, real estate developers, and the Swiss Tourist Board have created a juggernaut heading for Jung’s home in Kusnacht and his famous tower in Bollingen. The enterprise called Große Böse Wölfe Hinein Unterwäsche has announced its plans to finalize the purchase of Jung’s estate and transform it.
SCHADENFREUDE: Why do we enjoy seeing others fail?
If we’re completely honest, there’s a dark delight in seeing someone embarrass themselves, especially if we think they deserve it. So, when our irritating boss stomps by our cubicle trailing a few feet of toilet paper from his shoe or a controversial politician is caught in a sexual picadillo, we’re likely to stifle a laugh or at least enjoy a self-satisfied sigh. This joy in someone’s shame or misfortune is called schadenfreude.
