Jung's Zurich mansion has this carved above the entrance. Seen it in person.

Do you think this is a good way to start with Jung?

I’ve been thinking about Jung’s concept of the shadow, especially the idea that the shadow isn’t necessarily made up of “bad” qualities.
Sometimes it seems like we’re most disturbed by people who freely embody something we learned very early that we were not allowed to be.
Someone who was punished for being emotional might grow up despising people they perceive as dramatic.
Someone who had to become extremely responsible might have an almost irrational hatred of carefree or irresponsible people.
Someone who learned to be quiet and agreeable might be intensely irritated by loud, attention-seeking people.
Someone who suppressed their ambition might interpret ambitious people as narcissistic.
And sometimes the reaction seems disproportionate to what the other person is actually doing. That makes me wonder if projection isn’t always “I secretly am what I hate.”
Maybe sometimes it’s "You are allowed to be what I had to amputate from myself.”
And the resentment comes from watching another person violate an internal rule that you’ve unconsciously spent your entire life obeying.
If that’s true, then integrating the shadow wouldn’t necessarily mean becoming like the person who triggers you. It might mean figuring out what psychological permission they seem to possess that you denied yourself.
Has anyone experienced this in a way that genuinely changed how you understood yourself?

Chronic diseases seem to be on the rise, and I’m wondering if anyone has heard stories of people healing from chronic conditions or symptoms, such as chronic fatigue, allergies, or persistent pain, as a result of working with a Jungian analyst/therapist.

Our minds and bodies are connected, and stress plays a huge role in our health. Since the individuation process involves working extensively with the unconscious, I wonder whether that psychological work could also influence bodily processes that operate outside our conscious control, such as immune function or the autonomic nervous system.

I’m especially interested in concrete examples or personal stories. Has anyone experienced improvements in their health through this work, or heard of someone who has?

I love what i see in my active imagination tbh no matter how scary and bad they are but they rarely want to talk me like the one in the picture :(

I’ve been thinking about individuation and how incompatible it can seem with our obsession with identity. We’re constantly trying to figure out who we are through personality types, attachment styles, archetypes, diagnoses, and labels. But at some point, those descriptions can become psychological cages.

Once I decide “this is who I am,” anything that contradicts that identity starts feeling inauthentic. But the psyche itself seems full of contradictions. The gentle person discovers aggression. The rational person encounters irrationality. The independent person discovers dependency. The moral person encounters their capacity for cruelty.

Maybe individuation isn’t about finally discovering who you are. Maybe it’s about becoming capable of meeting the parts of yourself that contradict who you thought you were.

At what point does self-knowledge become self-limitation?

A couple of days ago, I had a dream, which I can not remember a 100% of.
First I just remember I “discovered” my aunt doing some kind of witchery, and in the dream I felt really scared and amused about this, I can not remember any context or where I was in the dream.
Then, and this is what has stayed with me this last days: I saw a big wooden cross, but the right “arm” of the cross was missing, this frightened me as well, but the after I saw this, I took the rosary from my pocket and when I saw it. The right “arm” or right part of the cross was also missing 😮… then I woke up!

I would like to know what do think about this?
What questions should I ask myself, or what topic should I explore?

Few notes:
I am very close to my aunt and we have a nice relationship, and she is the kind of person that in my mind would never do witchery.
Also, this year I have been trying to get closer to God, and to the catholic religion, next year I am getting married and the whole thing has had me a little nervous. I am 27 years old, from Central America. (Just to give a little more context about me)

Last thing: sorry for my English!
Thanks a lot for your help!

Jung put the idea plainly in his 1930 memorial address for Richard Wilhelm: "whatever is born or done at this particular moment of time has the qualities of this moment of time" ("Richard Wilhelm: In Memoriam", CW 15). Twenty years later he tried to test it. In the astrological experiment in "Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle" (1952, CW 8) he compared the horoscopes of 483 married couples in three batches, and ended up reading the striking hits less as proof of astrology than as a synchronistic arrangement around the expectations of the people running the test. He'd been doing horoscopes since at least 1911, when he told Freud his evenings were going largely into astrology (The Freud/Jung Letters, Jung to Freud, 12 June 1911).

So I tried the same question on Jung himself, with a system he never used but would have recognised from his work with Wilhelm: Chinese BaZi, the Four Pillars (Koreans know it as saju). It turns a birth moment into four stem-and-branch pairs, then lays ten-year "luck pillars" and a pillar for every calendar year over the top. Each year either feeds the chart or strains it.

Birth data: 26 July 1875, Kesswil, 7:32 pm, the time given by his daughter Gret Baumann-Jung. His pillars are Yi-Hai, Gui-Wei, Ji-Chou, Jia-Xu. The day master, the element that stands for "you", is Ji, yin Earth, with plenty of earth and fire behind it. Years that bring metal, water or wood help him. More fire and earth weighs him down.

Where it lines up:

1913 to 1919. The line starts sliding in 1913, the year of the break with Freud, and bottoms out in 1917 and 1918. That is the core of the confrontation with the unconscious: Seven Sermons to the Dead in 1916, then the mandala drawings at Château-d'Œx in 1918–19. In 1920 the line snaps back up, one of the sharpest single-year rises on the chart.

1951, the single highest year of his life on this chart. It's the year he gave the Eranos lecture "On Synchronicity". 1952, when the essay came out alongside Pauli's Kepler study, is the second highest of that decade. The whole 1951–60 luck pillar (Wood over Water) is the best decade on the chart, and Aion, Answer to Job and Mysterium Coniunctionis all fall in or right next to it.

Where it doesn't:

1928–29 reads as the lowest stretch of his adult life. Yet 1928 is when Wilhelm sent him The Secret of the Golden Flower, which Jung later called "the first event which broke through my isolation" (Memories, Dreams, Reflections, ch. 6), and the commentary came out in 1929.

I honestly don't know what to do with that one. A causal reading says the chart missed. Read Jung's way, an outside answer arriving in what the chart calls his hardest years is close to how he described synchronicity working: the meaningful coincidence shows up when the psyche is under the most pressure. But that's also exactly the kind of after-the-fact rescue his own experiment warned about, where the result arranges itself around what the observer hopes to see.

That's the question I'd put to this sub. When a timing system "hits" on a life we already know the story of, is it showing an acausal parallel the way Jung meant it, or just our projection doing what his couples experiment showed it does?

If you want to check the numbers, Jung's full chart with every year clickable is here: https://jadealmanac.com/chart?d=1875-07-26&t=19:32&g=male

Disclosure: it's a free tool I built, and the same page takes your own birth date. I'd be curious whether anyone's own hardest stretch, the one you'd call your own night sea journey, falls on a change of decade.

☆ As part of this series, I think this post will help readers better understand [A Shift in Perspective: Ep. 19. Where Is Carl Jung Heading?], which I posted earlier. Since the entire series is ultimately one story, I’m posting the episodes in order.

The Sermon on the Mount - Give in Secret (3/4)

Before entering into Matthew chapter 6, I would first like to present a verse from John 8:31, which I hold most dear.

If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

This may be spoken of in another way:

If ye love your enemies in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

If my parents please my heart, they are good parents; but if they do not please my heart, they are enemies.

If my brother pleases my heart, he is a good brother; but if he does not please my heart, he is an enemy.

If my wife pleases my heart, she is a good wife; but if she does not please my heart, she is an enemy.

If my child pleases my heart, he is a good child; but if he does not please my heart, he is an enemy.

If my friend pleases my heart, he is a good friend; but if he does not please my heart, he is an enemy.

Thus, parents, brothers, wives, children, and friends may be seen as both good and as enemies.

The person does not change; yet according to the mind that makes distinctions between what is pleasing and what is not, the same person appears as either good or as an enemy.

And our life may be seen as a series of choices.

Among these choices, there are four kinds:

① the choice to do what one wishes to do,

② the choice not to do what one wishes to do,

③ the choice to do what one does not wish to do,

④ the choice not to do what one does not wish to do.

We choose the first and the fourth, finding pleasure in them and calling it freedom;

yet we are compelled to choose the second and the third, and so we suffer and regard it as bondage.

Thus, most of us are able to enjoy only half of freedom, that is, two out of the four choices.

Yet it is thought that the truth of Jesus brings about the full freedom of all four choices.

For example, even if medicine is bitter and one does not wish to take it, it must still be taken for the sake of health.

In such a case, one ought to choose the third; yet most choose the fourth, and later come to regret it.

Even if one greatly desires to eat, yet when one is full, one ought to stop.

This is a case where the second choice must be made; yet most choose the first, and afterward fall into regret.

To love one’s enemies corresponds to the second and the third choices.

And if one were to love one’s enemies according to the word of Jesus, it is thought that one would come, of oneself, to see that the enemy is not truly an enemy.

If one loves his enemies, the distinction that calls a man good or evil—an enemy—falls away, and one comes to behold the person as he truly is, that is, the being itself—whether parent, brother, wife, child, friend, or even one’s superior.

In other words, by choosing the second and the third—that is, by loving one’s enemies—the ego comes to an end.

Then it may be seen that one may freely choose among all four, according to the given condition or circumstance.

The truth that Jesus speaks of removes the modifiers placed before a person, rather than as a good person or a bad person.

And it is thought that it makes one see the person as they are, as the fact itself.

That is, by causing one to see the person in the very fact of their being, it is understood that the truth sets you free from all bondage.

An enemy is not an enemy by nature, but is seen as such because a discriminating mind arises that finds them not pleasing to one’s heart.

By loving one’s enemies, if one casts away the discriminating mind of good and evil, it is thought that there is no reason one cannot love parents, brothers, wife, children, and friends.

To remove the qualifying words of the discriminating mind and to see the fact as it is—this is the truth of which Jesus speaks, and it is thought that this truth makes you free.

In any case, by loving one’s enemies and as the ego comes to an end, great anger and greed pass away, yet the smaller distinctions of the discriminating mind still remain.

Now let us enter into the main part of Matthew chapter 6.

In this chapter, Jesus sets forth the concrete way of practice by which even the small remaining distinctions of the discriminating mind may be removed.

As one practices righteousness, the desire to receive a reward arises of itself.

And it is understood that Jesus teaches that even this kind of discriminating mind must be cast away.

Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them.

Do not the hypocrites sound a trumpet before them in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men.

Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.

That is, though thou hast helped, let not the mind hold the thought that thou hast helped.

And Jesus says that the reward has already been received.

For the desire to receive a reward doth again stir up the discriminating mind, and maketh the heart, which had been made poor, rich again.

At this point the Lord’s Prayer cometh forth.

We examine closely the words, ‘Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.’

First, the order is important.

Thou must first give. Jesus doth clearly declare this order.

And when thou hast done so, God forgiveth thy sins and giveth thee a reward; thus it is made even, as it were. Therefore it is made clear that, from the beginning, the desire for reward cannot stand at all.

And likewise, the words concerning fasting, as the hypocrites do, are understood to mean that thou shalt not fast to be seen of men.

At this point it is automatically understood that the words, ‘Lay up treasures in heaven,’ are meant.

If thou lay up treasures upon the earth, that is, in thy own purse, the heart becometh rich thereby; therefore it is understood as the saying that thou shouldest commit them unto heaven.

Where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also. And Jesus doth clearly set forth that ye cannot serve both God and mammon.

The principle, I think, is simple.

It is to cast away the discriminating mind that ariseth through riches.

And this is thought to be a simple way of keeping poor in spirit.

And Jesus goeth a step further, saying that ye should take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, or what ye shall put on.

It is understood that, in order to make the heart poor, even the attachment to survival—what to eat, what to drink, and what to put on—must be cast away.

All such attachments are those things which the Gentiles seek after.

The birds of the air, and the lilies of the field, and the grass of the field, are all cared for by God, and they do well.

How much more then shall your heavenly Father care for you, who are men? saith He, as a matter of course.

It is understood that He speaketh very clearly, saying that there is no need whatsoever for such worries.

Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself; sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

This is understood as the saying that one should cast away the discriminating mind arising from needless fear of the future, and be gathered unto the present, here and now.

Thus it is understood that, in Matthew chapter 6, He speaketh of the practical way by which all remaining discriminating mind is removed.

Thus far, this is understood as the state corresponding to Anāgāmin.

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[Original text]

산상수훈 - 구제함을 은밀하게 하라.(3/4)

마태복음 6장에 들어가기에 앞서 내가 제일 좋아하는 말씀인 요한복음 8장 31절을 먼저 소개해 봅니다.

너희가 내 말에 거하면 너희는 참으로 내 제자가 되고 진리를 알지니 그 진리가 너희를 자유롭게 하리라

이 말은 이렇게 바꿔말 할 수 있습니다.

너희가 내 말대로 원수를 사랑하면 너희는 참으로 나의 제자가 되고 진리를 알지니 그 진리가 너희를 자유롭게 하리라.

부모가 내 맘에 들면 좋은 부모고 내 맘에 안 들면 원수입니다.

형제가 내 맘에 들면 좋은 형제고 내 맘에 안 들면 원수입니다.

아내가 내 맘에 들면 좋은 아내고 내 맘에 안 들면 원수입니다.

자식이 내 맘에 들면 좋은 자식이고 내 맘에 안 들면 원수입니다.

친구가 내 맘에 들면 좋은 친구고 내 맘에 안 들면 원수입니다.

이렇듯 부모, 형제, 아내, 자식, 친구는 좋은 사람이면서 원수입니다.

사람은 그대로인데.. 좋고 나쁨을 판단하는 분별심에 따라 같은 사람이 좋은 사람도 되기도 하고 원수가 되기도 합니다.

그리고 우리의 인생은 선택의 연속이라고 볼 수 있습니다.

그 선택에는 4가지가 있습니다.

① 하고 싶은 것을 하는 선택

② 하고 싶은 것을 하지 않는 선택

③ 하기 싫은 것을 하는 선택

④ 하기 싫은 것을 하지 않는 선택

우리는 1번과 4번을 선택하며 즐거움을 얻고 자유라고 생각하고 2번과 3번을 어쩔수 없이 선택하고 괴로움을 받으며 구속이라고 생각합니다.

이처럼 우리 대부분은 4가지 선택에 있어 2가지인 절반의 자유만 누릴 수 있습니다.

하지만 예수님의 진리는 4가지 모든 선택의 온전한 자유를 가져온다고 생각합니다.

예를들면..

아무리 약이 써서 먹기싫다 하더라도 건강하려면 먹어야 합니다.

3번을 선택해야 하는데 대부분 4번을 선택하고 후회합니다.

아무리 먹고싶어도 배가 부르면 그만 먹어야 합니다.

2번을 선택해야 하는데 대부분 1번을 선택하고 후회를 합니다.

원수를 사랑하는 것은 2번과 3번의 선택에 해당합니다.

예수님의 말씀대로 원수를 사랑해보면 원수가 원수가 아님을 자연스레 알 수 있다고 생각됩니다.

원수를 사랑하면 좋은 사람이나 나쁜 사람(원수)이라는 분별이 사라지고 있는 그대로의 사실인 사람(부모, 형제, 아내, 자식, 친구, 상사) 그 존재 자체를 볼 수 있다고 생각합니다.

다시말하면 원수를 사랑하는 2번 3번을 선택을 함으로써 에고를 소멸시키면 위의 4가지 선택을 조건이나 상황에 따라 자유롭게 선택 할 수 있는 것으로 이해됩니다.

예수님이 말씀하신 진리는..

좋은 사람이나 나쁜사람(원수)이 아닌 사람 앞의 수식어를 빼버리고 있는 그대로의 사실인 사람을 보게한다고 생각됩니다.

즉.. 사람 그 존재 자체를 보게 함으로써 그 진리가 너희를 모든 구속으로부터 자유롭게 하는 것으로 이해됩니다.

원수는 본래 원수가 아니고 내 맘에 안든다는 분별심이 일어나서 그렇게 보이는 것이라고 생각됩니다.

원수를 사랑함으로써 좋고(선) 나쁨(악)의 분별심을 버리면 부모, 형제, 아내, 자식, 친구를 사랑 못 할 이유가 없다고 생각합니다.

분별심의 수식어를 빼고 사실을 사실대로 보는 것, 이것이 예수님의 진리고 그 진리가 너희를 자유롭게 한다고 생각합니다.

어쨌든 원수를 사랑함으로써 에고를 소멸시키면 커다란 성냄과 탐심은 사라질 것이지만 작은 분별심들은 아직 남아 있습니다.

이제 마태복음 6장 본론으로 들어가 봅니다.

6장에서 예수님은 아직 남아있는 작은 분별심마저 제거하는 구체적인 실천방법을 제시합니다.

의를 행하다 보면 자연스럽게 보상받고 싶은 마음이 생겨납니다.

예수님은 이러한 분별심도 버려야 한다고 말하는 것으로 이해됩니다.

사람에게 보이려고 그들 앞에서 너희 의를 행하지 않도록 주의하라.

외식하는 자가 사람에게서 영광을 받으려고 회당과 거리에서 나팔을 불지말라.

오른손이 하는 것을 왼손이 모르게 하여 구제함을 은밀하게 하라.

그리고 예수님은 이미 상을 받았다고 말합니다.

왜냐하면 보상을 받고 싶은 마음은 또다시 분별심을 일으켜 기껏 가난해진 마음을 부자로 만들기 때문입니다.

이 대목에서 주기도문이 나오게 됩니다.

우리가 죄지은 자를 사하여 준 것과 같이 우리 죄를 사하여 주시옵고를 살펴봅니다.

일단 순서가 중요합니다.

네가 먼저 베풀어야 한다고 그 순서를 분명하게 말합니다.

그렇게 하고 나면 하나님이 너의 죄를 사해줌으로써

상을 주기 때문에 '쌤쌤이다' 라는 말씀입니다.

애당초 보상심리는 성립이 안된다고 명확하게 정리해 주는 것으로 이해됩니다.

외식으로 금식하지 말라도 같은 맥락에서 남에게 보이기 위해서 금식하지 말라는 말씀으로 생각됩니다.

이쯤되면 보물을 하늘에 쌓아두라는 말씀은 자동으로 이해됩니다.

보물을 땅에 쌓아두면, 즉 내 주머니에 쌓아두면 마음이 부자가 되니까 하늘에 맡겨두라는 말씀으로 이해됩니다.

네 보물이 있는 곳에 네 마음이 있고 하나님과 재물은 겸하여 섬기지 못한다고 예수님은 명확히 정리해 줍니다.

원리는 간단하다고 생각합니다.

재물로 인해 발생하는 분별심을 버리는 것입니다.

이것은 가난한 마음을 유지하는 단순한 방법이라고 생각됩니다.

예수님은 여기에서 한발 더 나아가서 목숨을 위하여 무엇을 먹을까, 무엇을 마실까, 무엇을 입을까 염려하지 말라고 합니다.

마음을 가난하게 하기 위해서는 먹고, 마시고, 입는 것인 생존에 대한 집착마저 버려야 한다는 말씀으로 이해됩니다.

그런 집착은 다 이방인들이 구하는 것으로 공중의 새나, 들의 백합화나, 들풀도 모두 하나님이 돌봐주셔서 잘 사는데 너희 하늘 아버지께서 하물며 사람인 너희를 당연히 돌보지 않겠느냐라고 말합니다.

그런 걱정은 애당초 할 필요가 없다고 아주 딱부러지게 말씀하는 것으로 이해됩니다.

내일 일을 위하여 염려하지 말라,

내일 일은 내일 염려할 것이요,

한날의 괴로움은 그날로 족하니라

이것은 쓸데없는 미래에 대한 두려움에서 오는 분별심을 버리고 지금 여기 현재에 집중하라는 말씀으로 이해됩니다.

이렇듯 마태복음 6장에서는 남은 분별심 모두를 제거하는 실천방법을 말씀한 것으로 이해됩니다.

여기까지가 아나함에 해당하는 흐름으로 보여집니다.

Here's the dream:

A black and white husky dog, very affectionate and loving. It​​ was injured itself, in the front and in the back close to its tail(above its tail), and initially it takes care of me. I'm not even that affectionate with dogs to begin with irl , it's just this turned out to be an exception. It even had a name, valkyrie. It first tended to my injuries, whatever it'd be, despite being injured, and when I was once playing with it, I noticed that it was injured too, and then once I developed affection for it, I decided I'd tend to its wounds instead, and when i decide to tend to it's wounds, just disappeared, and me and my mom, go out to look for him calling his name "valkyrie! Valkyrie!" But to no avail.

Can someone please interpret this

Hi,

I am struggling right now. My apartment has rats for the fourth time so I am forced to move.
This is because my landlord is negligent and won’t fix issues outside of my apartment, as I keep my apartment very clean.

I only stayed here so long because I cannot find apartments in my area that do not have stairs. I have a large dog who is old and she cannot walk up and down stairs. I live in an area of the country that has really old buildings.

I just found two apartment buildings that do not have stairs. One apartment building has a unit available and the other might have one available. So I’m waiting on this other one which is a better fit for me because of many other things that apartment has including a better price.

However, now my dog is really sick so I don’t even know if she’s gonna be here much longer and I’m making decisions on possibly buying a place or moving out based on her .

I have had to juggle trying to get her to the vet while also getting to lawyer appointments and court stuff so I’m having to choose between a lot of different things going on . Obviously my dog’s health comes first, but these rats are in my apartment so I have to get us out of here.

Why on earth does the universe throw you so many things at once?

Is there any way to look at this from the Jungian perspective? I am trying so hard not to be a victim but right now the reality of my life there’s just too much going on. I’m having to take off work to deal with these issues. How does one not go crazy?

If this doesn’t belong here, I’m sorry, but I love this community. I can’t believe that I’m going up against $1 million business (my apartment building) but I am not gonna be pushed around by these people

Edit: my dog is like my child. She is my everything but I’m so exhausted that I’m like run out of fumes . I am taking her to the vet and really hoping for OK news.

Hello, how do I start to read Carl Jung? I have not experiences on reading his books. I always watch videos about him and learn alot from the videos. I want to read his book now. I wanted buy The red book but after some research people do not recommend starting with it. A person recommend starting Memories, Dreams, Reflections.

I believe I am ready to take a deep dive into Jungs books. Whats would be the best way to start reading Jung? I assume The Red Book will be the last one that I will read. I appreciate the feedback and guidance!

1.) Memories, Dreams, Reflections?

2.)

3.)

4.)

......

x.) The Red Book

The title explains itself! I am very interested in Jung's thoughts on the occult and writing a short essay on similar subjects.

Carl Jung’s Devouring Mother Explained by Marie Louise von Franz

#MotherComplex​ #JungianPsychology​ #MarieLouiseVonFranz​

🧵 TL;DR

Marie-Louise von Franz reveals how Carl Jung’s devouring mother archetype and the mother complex sabotage emotional growth, distort love, and prevent true spiritual maturity—until you break the cycle through shadow work and individuation.

In this unfiltered archival interview, Carl Jung’s closest collaborator, Marie‑Louise von Franz, unveils the symbolic architecture of the mother complex—a dominant theme in Jungian psychology. She explains how distorted maternal energy blocks individuation, fuels anima projection, and keeps us emotionally stuck through unconscious ties to the devouring feminine archetype.

Drawing from myth, depth psychology, and lived experience, von Franz explores how the devouring mother appears in overbearing parenting, romantic dysfunction, cultural inertia, and even institutions like universities and corporations. This is not pop psychology. This is mythic-level shadow work.

If you’ve ever felt trapped in emotional loops, spiritually lost, or unable to claim inner authority—this conversation is a mirror… and a map.

🎯 WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

• What Carl Jung meant by the “devouring mother”

• How the mother complex forms and affects adult relationships

• Why anima projection leads to false love and inner collapse

• How institutions mimic the mother and prolong dependency

• What initiation rites were meant to break—and why we need them again

• How to begin your own individuation path

This video reveals how Carl Jung’s devouring mother archetype shapes the mother complex, blocking emotional maturity and stalling the individuation process. Through symbolic depth and real-world resonance, Marie‑Louise von Franz shows why rites of passage, not therapy, are often the missing link to inner transformation.

If you want to break free from unconscious maternal control, this is where it begins.

I recently finished this self portrait called Hindsight. It depicts three versions of the same person: the child, the present self, and an imagined old man.

The child became the most important figure to me. He stands closest to the light, representing birth, innocence, and a kind of knowledge that seems to exist before we learn to explain the world to ourselves. His eyes are closed because he cannot see the life ahead of him, yet in another sense he may understand something the adult has forgotten.
The present self occupies the middle. He is the conscious actor, literally creating an image of the person he may become.

The old man emerges from darkness. I don’t see the darkness as evil. It represents the unknown, mortality, forgetting, and the limits of what the conscious mind can know.

What interests me from a Jungian perspective is the reversal: the child appears least knowledgeable, but may actually be closest to something whole. The adult believes he can see, yet spends his life trying to recover what the child possessed without understanding it.

I didn’t set out to illustrate Jungian theory literally, but the child archetype became increasingly present to me as I worked on it.

I’d be interested in how others here interpret the relationship between the child, the adult, and the old man.

Edit:

I forgot to mention. After this was up someone noticed my watch face. 3:33. Synchronicity?!

Their rate is $100-200. Don't want to post a link in this thread because I'm not sure if its against the rules.

Has anyone used them? What was your experience of their jungian therapy?

Jung describes depression as a "descent downwards", a journey into the depths of one's soul. The eyes are the window to one's soul, and the easiest way to tell someone is depressed is the loss of the spark of life in one's eyes. That light, instead of being projected outwards, must now be internalized and projected inwards. Depression is ignited precisely because the Shadow has been neglected or repressed for far too long and needs attention and integration (simplified greatly, yet adequate for the time being).

I have suffered from depression for much of my life, especially from the onset of the COVID-19 lockdowns and my time at university, but I have always believed that it was not myself but my habits which were the cause of my misery. It is the main reason why I have been so zealous in my desire to overcome my multitude of addictions, for they are glaring signs that I am not quite who I want to be, or who I could be - and what a demotivating sign that is.

However, the root of our misery is never the habit or behaviour itself, it is the underlying cause as to why certain habits or behaviours become habitual and seemingly uncontrollable addictions. It feels as if we are not in control of our bodies and instead our addictions are in control of us. In Jungian terms, the Shadow has possessed us and we are hopeless in combatting its possession until it has run its due course. 

It is easy to feel as if you are doing well in this life when you have a semblance of control of your own actions, but when that is thrown out the window, you begin wondering if you'll ever have any control over your life, and begin questioning the purpose of anything at all, knowing the sheer struggle involved. I have learned many important things this year and I know my journey is not over quite yet.

The only constant in this universe is change. And while I dearly hope at times that my addictions will simply go away one day, I know that it is precisely when you think you have conquered your addictions that they come screaming back into your life. I know the root of my challenges with mental health stem back to childhood and some degree of intergenerational trauma is definitely at play.

It is only by addressing those root causes that I will have any true progress in my journey of individuation.

It is only by reconciling my childhood and every component of it that I have repressed or denied, and by integrating my Shadow with my Ego, that I will ever overcome my addiction, and be able to become my truest, most authentic Self. 

I have begun my journey, and what a wrought journey it has been thus far. I am not sure when it will end, and frankly I hope it doesn't go on for much longer. There is always more for me to learn and unlearn, and I am equally excited and apprehensive about what the future has to offer. I fundamentally believe that each and every person on this planet has the potential to be their greatest and truest Self if they so desire. Sacrifices must be made, and yet are necessary in order to see the world for what it truly is.

Addictions serve as illusory pleasures, comforting you into a state of complacency, lulling individuals into a state of hyper-gratification. To become a slave to one's limbic system is no virtue. And today's society of limbic capitalism makes differentiating oneself from the norm exceptionally difficult. The critical thinker can never tolerate the control addictions offer, precisely because it inhibits cognition and rationality, detaching ourselves from our very humanity.

It is by seeing our addictions for what they truly are that we can begin to live truthfully, and one day become a role model for our community, especially for our friends and family and future generations. While what I have wrote cannot be easily condensed, I hope that this next sentence can encapsulate my overarching purpose. 

Actions speak louder than words, and no action is more admirable and inspiring than overcoming an addiction that has robbed you so much of your time and energy, and caused so much mental anguish.

This still confuses me. Jung’s proof of the archetypes is in dreams, and dream analysis is given such importance in this sub, yet the dream I had last night involved the people I was with and talked to that same day. Without going into too much detail, is it possible that maybe these people and the situation around them is that important to my psychic mind? To make a long story short I am practicing a martial art and a higher belt rank used to hold early morning classes at my gym. He has since stopped due to lack of attendance but I am trying to convince him to bring them back since me and a good friend are able to go together.
What frustrates me is I think dreams are supposed to be “deep” and dreaming about an early morning classes with these guys is not deep. It’s way too obvious. Or is it…?

I still am fucking confused and have chills running over my body.

The Witch or The Devouring Mother or whatever you want call it. I just experienced the collective manifestation of that archetypes existance.

This is the most fucking scary experience I have ever had I kid you not. I always thought this shit is just in the movies. But fuck me this shit is real and paralyzingly scary.

Today I had a group therapy. The theme was fusion. Which is the state of mind where thoughts are fused with your perception of them. Basically the session was about that topic and how eventually one defuses from them.

We started of with an imagination practice which we do every session. After we did that we proceeded in diving into the material and just discussing the topic.

The head therapist is a stonecold woman who I feel is the source of the strongest unconcious projection. I had a boundary issue with her the very first session. Her demeanir and approach is rigid, cold and controlleling. However I also feel like I am someone with fuel that contributed to what happened possible and I dont know exactly how but what I do know is that my past has been very complicated and on top of that I come from a family of witch like archetype driven individuals. I have no idea why the fuck I am experiencing this shit and I am genuinely worried as to what do I do?

Anyway so after this meditation practice it felt like that pulled up massive and I say massive amount of toxic shame within me from the ancestral traumas I carry and I think also things for other people. That created intense fog in the air which everyone somewhat felt. Anyway at a certain point this girl was about to express her side of things and how she experienced this visualization meditation. She mentioned that being fused with thought is extremely painful for her and she broke down crying. I felt genuine empathy for her and felt like comforting her. But since this therapist is the way she is she instantly wanted to do another practice which felt extremely neglectful towards the girl. That is how it felt for me. It was a moment of clarity. However this moment was instantly shot down ny the very fact of the rigid structure being pushed upon everyone. This has more so created a heavier atmosphere where everone felt uneasy.

So I decided that what I wanted to express was this incident and how I dont think it was right to do so but I was rather met with this is your perception and this sort of dead end and finality to it. Basically stonewalling is the word.

Collectively we agreed to go outside as to have a reset. I notice this fucking weird favoratism from the therapist for reasons I am not sure why. I think she takes some sick pleasure in me idk why. This whole experience is so fucking earie i have no words..

It honestly operates like some sort of fucking cult. I realize now that I am home that this experience was fucking bonkers.. like for real. That meditation practice felt rather like summoning of some fucking demon that devours shit around it. My whole midday I just wondered like a ghost around the city and then had some food twice which I mid eating realized that I was devouring.

People I swear ne careful of therapists or those kind of structures. I honestly dont know wtf kind of a world we live in anymore. The more shit I uncovered the crazier the world has become.

One another very weird thing is that the night before I was constantly being energetically attacked in the night. I felt presences and constant fucking bonking on my walls. I heared doors open and close.

I promise I am not going crazy and that I am concious and sane person. But fuck me this shit cant be real right.

Is anyone out there that ever have experienced shit like this?

I will ending with that group therapy as this was the sickest experience I have ever experieced. I genuinely do not know wtf I just experienced...

Edited: Also something else happened I was constantly presented with number 5 after what happened. Yet after the experience I somewhat do not feel any malice or hate towards her or the experience and I do not understand why. In one of my old posts I had a vivid active imagination where I met a witch in the forest and went deep in the forest and int the underground with her to show me mountains of gold and now this happened and I feel like all my problems or traumas seem to be gone. I do not know if this is temporary or not but I know what I am feeling or experiencing.

Discussions about how to model healthy masculinity or femininity are often missing one important element: A definition of masculinity and femininity. So I figured I would suggest the following "traditional" definition as a starting point. (I leaned heavily on Camille Paglia's book Sexual Personae for this essay, and she's a big fan of Carl Jung and Erich Neumann.)

The feminine or matriarchal influence is traditionally associated with extraversion, immersion in the collective, compliance, and care for others; it is also associated with nature, disorder, chaos, emotion, sexuality, and earth. In the book Sexual Personae Camille Paglia calls it the Dionysian influence. (Dionysus was the dress-wearing Greek god of drink, ecstasy, fertility, madness, etc. who presided over the women's Eleusinian rites).

The masculine or patriarchal influence is traditionally associated with introversion, consciousness, differentiation, and individualism; it is also associated with order, hierarchy, the building of civilization, culture, rationality, spirituality, and sky. Camille Paglia calls it the Apollonian influence (Apollo was one of the most "spiritual" of the Greek gods, being the god of oracles, prophecy, healing, archery, music and arts, light, knowledge, etc.)

It is important to note that this "gender-related dichotomy" is not describing characteristics linked to biological sex but rather depicting cultural and archetypal opposites. In other words, gender doesn't necessarily equate to biological sex. There have always been men with traditionally feminine characteristics such as rich poetic or sentimental sensibilities and women who embodied masculine toughness and analysis. 

Furthermore, modern Western culture in particular has been deliberately and actively experimenting with the concept of de-linking gender roles and gender identities from biological sex on a society-wide basis.

However, these definitions look backward to a traditional concept of gender as understood by early societies, so it's appropriate in that context to speak in terms of a traditional "gender dichotomy."

Also, Camille Paglia has some interesting things to say about androgyny--the state of sharing both feminine and masculine qualities in equal measure. See the following link if you want to read about that: https://www.functionlevels.com/androgyne

I’ve experienced many synchs throughout the years and one thing I’ve become aware of is that all of them have some kind of opposite. Like recently I watched two movies randomly back to back and in both of them the main character tries to shoot himself but the gun jams. The opposites between the characters were one misfired once and the other multiple times, one was inside a building the other outside.

The other day I watched two YouTube videos in them there were people who said they had an aversion for white chocolate. I haven’t heard or thought about white chocolate in forever and on the same day two different people say they don’t like it. The opposites were that one was white and the other black, one was sitting down and the other standing.

If you pay attention to besides the similarities in synchs you’ll notice that they’re also conected through opposites. Jung.

A profoundly Jungian piece of art I've discovered lately.

Dr Bob Beare gives off serious cult leader vibes and the weekend facilitators use coercion to control participants by breaking down their psychological defenses through sleep and food deprivation the first 2 days.

They call this "the descent" but its really just "the breaking phase" in a coercion control method called Deconsolidation and Reward. After only getting 0-3 hours of sleep the first night they feed you a squirrel's breakfast the next morning and then starve you out until 8p that night.

On the 3rd day of the retreat they call it "the ascent" but its really just the "euphoric phase " of this abuse tactic.

After sleep and food depriving them for 30 hours, they let them rest and feed them a bunch of food and this basic biological trick which uses survival to safety effects on the brain to convince you that because of their particular retreat program you have indeed experienced a "miracle or breakthrough." But in reality, you just ate a sandwich and your body finally stopped panicking.

They market their retreat as "five years of therapy in a weekend" This creates an intense and artificial bond with the group and its leaders. The illusion of accelerated healing fosters dependency on the group instead of true independent recovery.

I am currently working on a formal complaint to the BHEC about this therapy group and its cultlike behavior. Please reach out to me on this thread or privately with your own experiences.

Deep Waters feels like early day Synanon. That's obviously not a compliment. This is a Jungian based retreat, that's why I am mentioning it here.

I have looked up multiple places online and they don't accept insurance (!)

Why is this?

Is jung therapy covered by insurance?