Jungianthology Blog

Book Release | The Spiritual Paradox of Addiction: The Call for the Transcendent (Video)

Though we are somewhat past the publish date, we would like to share this video of Dr. Ashok Bedi, member of the Chicago Society of Jungian Analysts, speaking about his recent book, The Spiritual Paradox of Addiction: The Call for the Transcendent, written with co-author Joseph Pereira.

Ashok Bedi, M.D. is a Jungian psychoanalyst and a board-certified psychiatrist. He is a member of the Royal College of psychiatrists of Great Britain, a diplomat in Psychological Medicine at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of England, a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He is a Clinical Professor in Psychiatry at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and a training analyst at the Carl G. Jung Institute of Chicago. His books include The Spiritual Paradox of Addiction, Crossing the Healing Zone , Awaken the Slumbering Goddess: The Latent Code of the Hindu Goddess Archetypes, Retire Your Family Karma: Decode Your Family Pattern and Find Your Soul Path and Path to the Soul. He is the liaison for the IAAP for developing Jungian training programs in India and travels annually to India to teach, train the consult with the Jungian Developing groups at several centers in India including Ahmedabad and Mumbai. He leads the annual “A Jungian Encounter with the Soul of India” study group to several centers in India under the auspices of the New York Jung Foundation. His publications and upcoming programs may be previewed at pathtotheosul.com


Links: Dr. Bedi’s Website | Dr. Bedi’s Analytical Practice Website | Dr. Bedi’s Recorded Lectures on the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago Website | Dr. Bedi’s books on Amazon

Book Release | My Journey to Ironman: Endurance Sports as a Means of Individuation by Warren Sibilla, Jr

In his early forties, Warren Sibilla is a successful professional with a close and loving family life. After setting challenging professional goals for himself, things start to go awry. His hard work and sincere efforts are met with criticisms that leave him feeling misunderstood and that threaten his sense of belonging. His dreams suggest that he make the difficult decision to postpone a path to professional advancement and focus on his physical health. Warren takes us with him as he begins to exercise, then to train for marathons, eventually participating successfully in an Ironman event. We accompany him as he learns to trust his dream life and his instincts–and to learn from others who guide him. Warren Sibilla tells his story with simplicity and immediacy, not as a triumph only but as a deep and humbling experience. This book is different from other stories of courage and athletic accomplishment because he does not present himself as a hero but as a man without special talent in sports who grows into being himself through facing a daunting physical challenge. This book is deeply moving, as the reader can so easily identify with his situation and perhaps feel inspired to face exactly the challenges one never imagined possible.

Warren W. Sibilla Jr., Ph.D. is a Clinical Psychologist and Diplomate Jungian Psychoanalyst who practices in South Bend, Indiana, USA. In addition to his private practice, Dr. Sibilla has served in various leadership roles at the C. G. Jung Institute in Chicago, including serving as the Co-Director for the Jungian Psychotherapy Program for eight years and now as the Director-Elect of the Analyst Training Program. He is currently writing a book on the relationship between Zen Buddhism and Analytical Psychology using the Ox Herding Pictures from 10th century China. Finally, he is most proud to say that he is a foster parent for rescued dogs in the community.

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Anita Greene | Archetypal Affects: Shame & Contempt

Thank you to the Jung Association of Western Massachusetts and Marlow Shami for sharing this video of Anita Greene, PhD, discussing shame and contempt. From the video description:

Of all the archetypal affects in us, shame is the most toxic and the most human of all the emotions. Lewis Stewart, who reassessed Jung’s thoughts about affects, believes that contempt and shame are two sides of the same bipolar emotional dynamic whether one is on the giving or receiving end. Both are the response to alienation and rejection. Extreme contempt exudes a deprecating superiority. Extreme shame obliterates a sense of self-worth and authenticity. Clinical examples will illustrate how this bipolar dynamic operates in all of us.

Anita Greene, PhD, Jungian Analyst (IAAP) and Rubenfeld Synergist, is a graduate of the C.G. Jung Institute of New York and teaches at the C.G. Jung Institute of Boston. She has a private practice in Amherst.

The video was recorded by Marlow Shami.

Links: Jung Association of Western Mass Website | Marlow Shami’s YouTube Channel | Marlow Shami’s Website

Freddie Taborda | Psychological Wisdom of the “Lord’s Prayer” (English/Español)

I would like to take some time to write about the psychological wisdom of a prayer -“The Lord’s Prayer”- that has guided the lives of millions of Catholic people around the world. My objective is to offer (like Edward Edinger did; see his book, “Transformation of the God-Image”) a brief psychological distillation (intra-psychic perspective) of that prayer.

First, here is the prayer:

“Our Father who art in Heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.”

From a psychological point of view, the relationship between our ego and the unconscious is important for our psychological well-being, especially the relationship between our consciousness and the center of the unconscious, which Analytical Psychology (Jung) calls the Self or the God Image in us. According to Jung, God is in each of us and that He/She is the center of the unconscious, which contains not only all the undiscovered and unknown potentials, talents, and abilities in each human life but, also, the dark aspects of human nature.

“Our Father who are in Heaven”

Then, what does the first sentence – “Our Father who are in Heaven” – mean psychologically?

It may mean that, inside of each of us, there is a place (Heaven) where all the undiscovered and unknown potentials, skills, talents, abilities as well as the dark aspects are located, and that the Creator of Life -God (Father)- as well as the fundamental impulse to create is there, too.

“Hallowed be Thy name”

What does this sentence mean psychologically?

The Self -God in us- is sacred. The prayer is asking people to declare the Self sacred and to view the inner center of our lives -the Self- as holy and whole. Given that the Self or God in us is dynamic center from where all psychological life begins -wishes, desires, thoughts, unknown potentials, undiscovered talents, and untapped skills- the second sentence of prayer is asking us to view and hold our psychological lives as sacred and divine. In a world where, unfortunately, outer reality seems to be the most important aspect of a human life, redeeming the “inner life and its center” as sacred seeks to restore the great psychological value of inner life.

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Lionel Corbett | Psyche & the Sacred

Thank you to the Pacifica Graduate Institute for sharing this video. From the video description:

“You can’t define the sacred,” insists Pacifica professor and author, Dr. Lionel Corbett. “We can only talk about how we experience it. When C. G . Jung contemplated the sacred, he used the criteria of German theologian, Rudolf Otto, who described the experience of the sacred or the holy as “numinous”—that is, something that is mysterious, tremendous, or fascinating, having a powerful emotional quality beyond the ordinary or the everyday ego.” Pacifica alumna Bonnie Bright interviews Pacifica faculty member Dr. Lionel Corbett on Psyche and the Sacred. Dr. Corbett teaches in the Integrative Therapies and Healing Practices Specialization, the Jungian and Archetypal Studies Specialization and both doctoral programs in Clinical Psychology.

Lionel Corbett, MD is a professor of depth psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute. His primary interests are: the religious function of the psyche, especially the way in which personal religious experience is relevant to individual psychology; the development of psychotherapy as a spiritual practice; and the interface of Jungian psychology and contemporary psychoanalytic thought. He is the author of numerous professional papers and four books: Psyche and the Sacred: Spirituality Beyond ReligionThe Religious Function of the PsycheThe Sacred Cauldron: Psychotherapy as a spiritual practice, and most recently The Soul in Anguish: Psychotherapeutic approaches to suffering.


Links: Lionel Corbett on the Jungianthology Podcast & Blog | Lionel Corbett’s lectures on the C. G. Jung Institite of Chicago Website | The Pacifica Graduate Institute YouTube Channel | The Pacifica Graduate Institute

In Memoriam: Tom Kapacinskas

SOUTH BEND, IN – Thomas John Kapacinskas was born on October 31, 1941. He died on Friday, August 14, 2020.

Tom was educated at St. Bede Academy in Peru, IL and the University of Notre Dame, BA ‘63, JD ‘68. Tom completed a post-doctoral diploma in Analytical Psychology (Jungian Psychoanalysis) in 1972 at the C.G. Jung Institut-Zuerich. He taught the great books seminar from an archetypal perspective and courses in Jung’s psychology of religion at the University of Notre Dame from 1972 to 1979. He maintained a private practice in Jungian Analysis in South Bend. In 1975, together with the late June Singer of Chicago, Tom was a founding member of the Inter Regional Society of Jungian Analysts and their Training Institute, and in 1980 of the Chicago Society of Jungian Analysts and the C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago. Tom lectured and presented seminars in the psychology of religion nationally and internationally, encouraging the development of the Lithuanian Jung Society in 1990. During his Notre Dame teaching years, Tom was chairperson of annual conferences in Jungian Psychology and its cross-disciplinary relevance.

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Donald Kalsched | Glimpses Through the Veil: Encounters with the Numen of Clinical Work

Thank you to the Pacifica Graduate Institute for sharing this video. From the video description:

In depth psychology, we tend to privilege two avenues or pathways that provide access to the mysteries of the unconscious and its potentially healing energies: transference and dreams. In this presentation, Dr. Kalsched describes specific “moments” where work in the transference opened important dreams that in turn led to a deep sense of shared meaning.

Donald Kalsched, PhD is a Clinical Psychologist and Jungian Psychoanalyst in private practice in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is a senior training analyst with the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts where he teaches and supervises. His 1996 book The Inner World of Trauma: Archetypal Defences of the Personal Spirit has found a wide readership in both psychoanalytic and Jungian circles and has been translated into many languages. Dr. Kalsched teaches and lectures nationally and internationally, pursuing his inter-disciplinary interest in early trauma and dissociation theory and its mytho-poetic manifestations in the mythic and religious iconography of many cultures.


Links: Donald Kalsched on Jungianthology | Donald Kalsched’s Lectures in the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago Store | The Pacifica Graduate Institute YouTube Channel | The Pacifica Graduate Institute

Lionel Corbett | Psychotherapy Based on Depth Psychology is a Superior Approach

Thank you to the Pacifica Graduate Institute for sharing this video in full. From the video description:

Psychotherapists who are interested in Depth Psychology are living in a professional world that is dominated by cognitive behavioral approaches—Lionel Corbett, M.D., explains why psychotherapy based on Depth Psychology is often the superior approach.

Lionel Corbett, MD is a professor of depth psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute. His primary interests are: the religious function of the psyche, especially the way in which personal religious experience is relevant to individual psychology; the development of psychotherapy as a spiritual practice; and the interface of Jungian psychology and contemporary psychoanalytic thought. He is the author of numerous professional papers and four books: Psyche and the Sacred: Spirituality Beyond ReligionThe Religious Function of the PsycheThe Sacred Cauldron: Psychotherapy as a spiritual practice, and most recently The Soul in Anguish: Psychotherapeutic approaches to suffering.


Links: Lionel Corbett on the Jungianthology Podcast & Blog | Lionel Corbett’s lectures on the C. G. Jung Institite of Chicago Website | The Pacifica Graduate Institute YouTube Channel | The Pacifica Graduate Institute

Freddie Taborda | The Hermit is Knocking at the Door (English/Español)

During this pandemia, the archetype of the hermit is knocking at the door worldwide. Then, quietly, he looks at us in the privacy of our homes, with ancient eyes, offering the gift of contemplation with which we awake to what is around us. We sense ourselves more. Also, the hermit’s abode is silence, which welcomes and embraces the fullness of life within; yet, at our homes, his visit may make us tremble with terror when facing such emptiness of sound and the magnitude of the space within. He carries a lamp to guide the inner traveler to the realm of solitude. Yes! During this pandemia, the hermit has brought, worldwide, the gifts of solitude, silence, and contemplation, which, for some people, may be unbearable to withstand, forcing them to run away from themselves. Thomas Merton wrote: “Not all men are called to be hermits, but all men need enough silence and solitude in their lives to enable the deep inner voice of their own true self to be heard at least occasionally.”

(Español)

Durante esta pandemia, el arquetipo del ermitaño está tocando la puerta en todo el mundo. En silencio, el nos mira en la privacidad de nuestros hogares, con ojos sabios, ofreciendo el regalo de la contemplación con el que nos despertamos a lo que nos rodea. Nos sentimos más nosotros mismos. Además, la morada del ermitaño es el silencio, que acoge y abraza la plenitud de la vida interior; sin embargo, en nuestros hogares, su visita puede hacernos temblar de terror al enfrentar el vacío del sonido y la magnitud del espacio interior. El lleva una lámpara para guiar al viajero interior al reino de la soledad. ¡Si! Durante esta pandemia, el ermitaño ha traído, por todo el mundo, los dones de la soledad, el silencio y la contemplación, que, para algunas personas, esto puede ser insoportable, obligándolos a huir de sí mismos. Thomas Merton escribió: “No todos los hombres están llamados a ser ermitaños, pero todos los hombres necesitan suficiente silencio y soledad en sus vidas para permitir que la profunda voz interna de su verdadero esencia se escuche al menos ocasionalmente”.

This post originally appeared on thehealingpsyche.org.

Freddie Taborda, LCPC, PsyD is a Jungian Analyst with over 30 years of clinical experience. He maintains a private practice in Chicago, Illinois.


Links: Dr. Taborda’s Website | About Dr. Taborda | Dr. Taborda’s Page on the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago’s Website

Ashok Bedi & Robert BJ Jakala | SSS: The Password to login to the Spirit -Making Room for the Sacred dimension of life

The following post is part of a series of reflections by Jungian Psychoanalyst Ashok Bedi, MD & Jungian Psychotherapist Robert BJ Jakala, PhD. Dr. BJ Jakala is a photographer and Dr. Bedi and Dr. Jakala jointly amplify the image. The ongoing series is available on pathtothesoul.com.

We seek the effective images, the thought-forms that satisfy the restlessness of heart and mind, and we find the treasures of the East.

Jung, 1934/1954/1968, p. 13

I was walking through a small village when I encountered this woman sitting on the wall. When I gestured to her to gain permission to take her photo. She nodded. As I raised my camera, she raised her hands to the namaste position. I pressed the shutter and lowered my camera but continued to look at her looking at me. I felt blessed. Her grounded soulfulness welcomed the moment of encounter with another. I felt her hospitality; without a camera she captured me. There was need for a polite smile by either of us. The gratitude of being recognized at a deeper level eliminated the idea of surface pleasantries.

Life in the United States has very few moments of stillness unless we make them. The pandemic, social justice, political upheaval, concerns about schooling in the fall leave little space for a full acknowledgement. Yet, we all need to be seen, heard, understood, and loved. I would benefit from creating and partaking in more moments with the woman sitting on a wall.

Most of us engage a lifestyle of horizontal engagement with the mundane, survival dimension of our daily, routine and busy existence. This calls for a balance with attention to a vertical axis of interiority, spirituality and the sacred dimension of our lives. When the horizontal, survival axis of our daily life intersects with the vertical, archetypal axis of our inner life, it forms a symbol of the Cross – a symbol of Wholeness. This calls for a sacrifice in the material/horizontal life to make room for the contemplative space to engage the sacred.

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Book Release | Sandplay: A Psychotherapeutic Approach to the Psyche

This new release of Dora Kalff’s classic Sandplay: A Psychotherapeutic Approach to the Psyche, is edited by Dyane Sherwood, PhD and translated by Boris Matthews, PhD, LCSW, NCPsyA; both are members of the Chicago Society of Jungian Analysts. It is published by Analytical Psychology Press. From the publisher:

Dora Kalff’s classic, originally published in German in 1966, is the foundational book of the psychotherapeutic modality she called ”Sandspiel” in German, translated ”Sandplay” in English. In sandplay, the therapist quietly witnesses while the patient creates a ”world” in a shallow tray half-filled with sand. Miniatures and natural objects, such as stones and shells, are provided for use in these creations.

Sandplay is now practiced around the world. Contemporary readers will discover that Frau Kalff’s wisdom and way of working with children and young adults feels fresh and engaging. Her deep insight into the development of the human psyche, with reference to Eastern contemplative traditions and the work of C. G. Jung, has found support from contemporary neuroscience.

Sandplay is widely integrated into therapeutic work with both children and adults, allowing body-based emotions and memories to emerge in a ”safe and protected space.” It has found particular application to trauma, including relief work following natural disasters and in zones of conflict.

In 1985, Kalff and her students founded the International Society for Sandplay Therapy, with branches in many countries. It is a collegial society that provides training and certification in sandplay therapy and is affiliated with the International Association of Analytical Psychology.

A review by Rosalind Heiko, PhD reads:

Kalff’s book is wonderfully accessible, and the case histories of the children resonate with spirit and compassion through their sand stories in the trays. It was the first book I read on Sandplay – and it fascinated me over 25 years ago, as it does now. I highly recommend this edition!

Speaking of Jung Podcast | Interview with George Hogenson

Speaking of Jung, a podcast by Laura London, is a wonderful series of interviews with Jungian Analysts. In this episode, recorded on March 14, 2016, she interviews George Hogenson, PhD, LCSW, member of the Chicago Society of Jungian Analysts.

Dr. Hogenson is a diplomate Jungian analyst in private practice in Chicago, where he works primarily with adults dealing with life transitions, dream work, and trauma.  He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Analytical Psychology, is the author of Jung’s Struggle with Freud as well as numerous articles on archetypal theory, synchronicity and the nature of symbols.  His teaching in the Analyst Training Program of the Institute has concentrated on the works of Jung, and he offers supervision and small reading groups for clinicians interested in Jung’s psychological system. Prior to becoming an analyst, Dr. Hogenson was on the faculty of the Yale School of Management, and a consultant to many organizations on leadership and strategy.  He continues to work with individual executives and organizations on management issues using the principles of Jungian psychology.

Listen to the interview on

Speaking of Jung is available through a variety of podcasting platforms and apps, including Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, TuneIn, Spotify, and iHeartRadio. Just search for “Speaking of Jung” in your favorite podcasts app to subscribe on your mobile device. You can also listen to select episodes on YouTube.


Links: The Speaking of Jung Podcast Website | This Episode of Speaking of Jung | The Speaking of Jung YouTube Channel | George Hogenson’s Recorded Lectures on the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago Website

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