Podcasts about jungian

While our last episode discussed Orpheus through the lens of archetypal creativity, this episode focuses on the grief elements of the story as depicted in Ovid’s version of the story. We share our own grief stories and explore the hazards experienced when people do not allow themselves to grieve. This episode we will be reading from: Metamorphoses – by Ovid⁠⁠⁠ Parables and Portraits – by Stephen Mitchell Orpheus. Euridice. Hermes. – by Rainer Maria Rilke You can listen to El Maleh Rachamim prayer on My Jewish Learning here. This prayer asks God to grant rest to departed souls and is often recited at funerals. Our intro/outro music a sample of Seikilos Epitaph with the Lyre of Apollo, by Lina Palera, under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. You can find the full version at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FreeMusicArchive.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Banner Image: Kratzenstein orpheus.jpg – Wikipedia Email: jungianeverafter@gmail.com Twitter: @JEA_Podcast Discord: https://discord.gg/GEdn4TPgHR Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/jungianeverafter

Today we listen to the tale of Erysichthon of Thessaly, a mad king under a curse. His hubris and savagery so angered the mother goddess Ceres, that the icy Goddess Famine cursed him with an insatiable appetite. Trying to fill the voracious void, the king lays waste to the entire kingdom and ultimately devours even himself. In the tradition of myth, it is a living tale, and this one, an eerie mirror of the present. When our search for meaning, becomes a search for soul, we inevitably find ourselves “entangled in myth,” said James Hillman, Jungian analyst and founder of archetypal psychology. Join us as we free ourselves from our mythic entanglement with mad kings and monsters.      Thanks to @iamlucasbakker - Blue Medicine Journal's editor, producer, musician and composer!  

A deep dive into David Hawkins' Map of Consciousness, Jungian shadow work, the Luciferic deception, and what authentic psychospiritual transformation really demands in these times.

Just as there are darkened seasons in human history—times when the structures sustaining civilization collapse in on themselves and humanity finds itself stiff-fisted, grasping at brittle branches, slipping between worlds—so too is every individual subject to phases of undoing in the metamorphosis of a lifetime.Entering the chrysalis is rarely a matter of choice. We would resist if we could. One morning, we awaken with a pit in the stomach, a visceral unease that signals change even before we can name its source. Quite all of a sudden, we find we have entered a dream with no solid ground and no turning back. Loss feels imminent, along with the uncertainty of what comes next or how we will get there. We try to keep moving, mistaking busyness for control of circumstance. We hoist the blueprints of our former lives above our heads to keep them dry, trying to shore up what is already dissolving.We try very hard, as all creatures do, not to die. Yet for the caterpillar, entering the chrysalis is a form of programmed death—a gruesome act of self-digestion. What can the larva comprehend of its own metamorphosis as it surrenders to darkness and enzymatic dissolution? Before it can be reconstituted, the caterpillar's whole body must pupate—which is to say liquify. Epithelial cells breaking down, muscles and mandibles lysed by their own enzymes, the entire body reduced to a nutrient slurry.Every winter, nature takes this serious turn. Fallen leaves coil in on themselves, roots retreat, seeds release, and stillness wraps the living world. Here's orientation from a recent column in our cherished local magazine, the Santa Fe New Mexican —“In winter, our arid steppe climate shows us the value of leaving things alone. Grasses left standing become shelter. Seed heads become sustenance. Evergreen shrubs offer cover from wind and predators when the world feels most exposed. What looks untidy to us is, in fact, a carefully balanced system of protection and patience. The garden does not ask us to fix it in January—only to witness it.”The winter gardener knows not to try to fix such depression, but instead to witness and accompany the world beyond control. For the winter gardener recognizes the fallows as sanctuary, the outer casings of seed heads and pale grasses as fortresses of transformation, and death as a passage between birthing seasons. This is the winter gardener's regenerative faith.Similarly, with respect to human development, Jungian analyst and author Marion Woodman called the chrysalis “a twilight between past, present, and future,” a place where the psyche must “tolerate annihilation—just long enough for the new form to begin assembling itself.” She described the sojourn of life as a series of “border crossings between what we were and what we cannot yet imagine.”For the caterpillar, the dream of the butterfly is carried by imaginal cells—tiny, sac-like clusters that, through the primordial twilight of metamorphosis, give rise at last to compound eyes, scaled wings—a new and elegant anatomy. This is how a creature built for crawling holds within its body the imagination of flight.In his 1910 Oxford lecture, The Birth of Humility, anthropologist Robert Ranulph Marett described metamorphic thresholds as “psycho-physical,” when body and mind falter so that “latent energies [may] gather strength for activity on a fresh plane.”The most courageous way we can enter the chrysalis is with attunement. “Pause,” Marett wrote, “is the necessary condition of the development of all those higher purposes which make up the rational being.” James Baldwin attested that the darkest hour can “force a reconciliation between oneself and all one's pain and error.” We cannot will ourselves to grow, for transformation is an act of presence, not power. But within the privacy of our consciousness, with patience and attention, we can rediscover the forces shaping our evolution and develop faith in what is becoming.In Jungian terms, the collective mirrors the individual psyche: what deconstructs in the outer world—painfully, though necessarily—reflects what must be reimagined from within. Today, democratic principles and ecological balance are slipping from their axes. But, as Marett observed, “Not until the days of this period of chrysalis life have been painfully accomplished can [a person] emerge a new and glorified creature.”Some silent, imaginal knowledge within us already knows the way. Here in the high desert, the earliest bloomers will soon appear: proof that the intelligence of life has been preparing the ground, all along, for the resurrection of some new and common beauty.Together, we're making sense of what it means to be human in an era of radical change. Your presence here matters. Thank you for reading, sharing, ‘heart'ing, commenting, and subscribing to The Guest House.+ Join next month's yoga & meditation class on Thursday, Mar 12, at 9 am MT / 11 am ET. A replay will be shared via email shortly thereafter.+ Find me at YogaSource in Santa Fe every Wednesday morning, 9-10:15 am MT / 11 am-12:15 pm ET for Dynamic Practice. This class is fully analog—live and in person. Register through the studio here.+ I'll be returning to two beloved places to offer retreats with friends in the coming year: Beyul Retreat, in the pristine wilderness surrounding Aspen, Colorado, May 21-25, 2026, with Wendelin Scott; AND world-class Ballymaloe House in County Cork, Ireland, Sept 20-26, 2026, with Erin Doerwald. Each retreat will feature yoga, meditation, farm-to-table meals, and curated outings—plus rest, nurturance, and imagination. Just a few spots left. Check out all the details here. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shawnparell.substack.com/subscribe

If you've ever been turned on by feelings of jealousy, you are so not alone. Dr. Marie Thouin wrote the book on compersion, so she's the perfect person to join us to get real about erotic jealousy, humiliation, being “the unchosen one,” and why some of us get hot exactly where we've been hurt. In this reverse interview, Joli shares candid stories from early non-monogamy and triad life, using masturbation and fantasy to work with jealousy, and how disposability, comparison, and attachment wounds all show up in her erotic life.They also dig into the ethics and weirdness of fantasizing about real people (including metamours), the idea of “participatory jealousy,” and what it really takes to play with this energy without burning everything down. You'll hear about kink as a tool for transformation, what happens in the “underworld” of big feelings, and how new erotic experiences can actually rewire old wounds—and make more room for compersion, nuance, and genuine choice in how you relate to jealousy.In this episode, we talk about:— Jealousy as a source of turn-on rather than a problem to fix— The relationship between jealousy, shame, and the struggle for Compersion— Joli's personal journey with jealousy in early non-monogamy and triad living— Using masturbation and fantasy to work with jealous feelings— The erotic charge of disposability, being “unchosen,” and humiliation— How attachment wounds and humiliation kink intersect with jealousy— Ethical questions about fantasizing about real people (including metamours)— Using placeholders/roles vs. specific individuals in erotic imagination— The idea of “participatory jealousy” and reclaiming agency— Alchemizing jealousy into something transformative (using a Jungian/alchemical lens)— The role of safety, trust, and betrayal in whether jealousy play can be healing— Kink as a tool for psychological transformation, not just sensation— Memory reconsolidation and how new erotic experiences can rewrite old wounds— Keeping metamours present in the imagination to support compersionResources mentioned in this episode:— Dr. Marie Thouin's website— Justin Lehmiller's research on sexual fantasies— Joli's guest episode on Girl Boner Radio with August McLaughlin— Episode 215 Nurturing Established Relationship EnergyJOIN The Year Of Opening® community for a full year of learning & support. Registration is open now at ⁠⁠www.TheYearOfOpening.com⁠⁠Learn the 5 secrets to open your relationship the smart wayAre you ready to open your relationship happily? Find out at www.JoliQuiz.comGet the answers you want to create the open relationship of your dreams! Sign up for an Ask Me Anything hereMusic: Dance of Felt by ⁠Blue Dot Sessions

Coral Osborne is a Certified Sexologist, Sex and Intimacy Coach who specializes in helping men overcome intimacy struggles, reconnect with their desires, and build more fulfilling relationships. Before becoming a Sexologist, Coral spent years as a high-end provider, where she witnessed men in their most unguarded moments—revealing fears around performance, shame about desire, and confusion about intimacy. Those experiences laid the foundation for her current work: helping men heal sexual shame, build confidence, and create embodied, emotionally connected relationships. She has trained with the Sexual Health Alliance, Somatica Institute, and Dr. Saida Desilets' Embodied Psychosexual Method (EPSM), with additional study in tantra, kink/bdsm, somatic experiencing, Jungian psychology, and men's work. Her multi-disciplinary approach integrates evolutionary psychology, attachment theory, cultural constructivism, depth psychology, and polyvagal theory. Coral believes our relationship to sex mirrors how we engage with life—and that healing the Madonna–Whore split is essential to reclaiming wholeness and vitality. She writes a regular Substack column dissecting erotic experience through a sexological lens and is at work on her first book, The Whore's Gospel: Case Studies in Sex, Power & Truth. She also hosts The Next Man Up podcast, exploring the paradoxes and misconceptions of modern masculinity.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jungian psychoanalyst and developmental psychologist Angeliki Yiassemides, Ph.D. joins us from Nicosia, Cyprus to discuss her decades-long research on the psychology of time, C.G. Jung, and his concept of synchronicity. She is the author of Time and Timelessness: Temporality in the Theory of Carl Jung, and the editor of Time and the Psyche: Jungian Perspectives.

Body as Shadow: Jung's Method of Embodied Healing is Jungian analyst Erica Lorentz's passionate, clinically grounded argument that Jung's psychology was never meant to be “head-only.” It was always an embodied practice, one that asks us to meet psyche where it actually lives: in sensation, emotion, energy, imagination, and what Jung called the somatic unconscious or subtle body. At the heart of the book is Lorentz's central method: embodied active imagination, a way of working in which inward attention to a symptom, sensation, or emotion becomes a portal into imaginal material and archetypal depths, without forcing interpretation or prematurely translating experience into words. This approach is shaped by her long apprenticeship in Authentic Movement (also known as Movement as Active Imagination), where the psyche is allowed to emerge through the body in a protected relational container and a non-directive witnessing stance. Lorentz argues that many modern approaches to trauma and psychotherapy remain constrained by a left-brain bias: we attempt to heal through insight, narrative, and cognitive explanation, while the original wound and the original healing energy often sits below language. Drawing on Jung's own words from the Zarathustra Seminar, she emphasizes the mysterious interlocking place where body and psyche become indistinguishable: where we cannot know if we are in matter or in psyche, because we are in both. Throughout the book, Lorentz bridges what is too often split in Jungian circles: developmental work and archetypal work. She insists that when we work with complexes, we must come to terms not only with childhood roots, but with the archetypal core “on its own ground”, because the archetype is not a metaphor; it is a force, and one we encounter in a bodily way. Erica Lorentz, M.Ed., L.P.C., is a Jungian analyst (IAAP) and training analyst at the C. G. Jung Institute of New England. With early roots in dance and decades of experience in Authentic Movement (Movement as Active Imagination), she integrates depth psychology with embodied and imaginal approaches to healing. Trained in object relations and shaped by clinical work with autistic and psychotic youth, she has taught and lectured widely on Jung, the body, and embodied active imagination across the US, Canada, the UK, and internationally, including teaching in India in 2024. Helena Vissing, PsyD, SEP, PMH-C is a Licensed Psychologist practicing in California and Associate Professor at California Institute of Integral Studies. She can be reached at contact@helenavissing.com. She is the author of Somatic Maternal Healing: Psychodynamic and Somatic Treatment of Trauma in the Perinatal Period (Routledge, 2023). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychoanalysis

A Husky narrates a compassionate, humorous, and perceptive account of living with a human who has obsessive‑compulsive personality disorder traits. Through keen canine observation, the Husky contrasts natural dog instincts—flexibility, presence, connection—with the rigid routines, perfectionism, rationalization, and emotional struggles of the human world. The story explores themes of routine, control, relationships, emotional expression, and the possibility of change. Ultimately, the dog encourages humans to keep perspective, let go more easily, and remember what truly matters: connection, simplicity, and a few good belly scratches.

Last November Nick and John introduced Dimitra Fimi, the magnificent maven of Tolkien Studies and Professor of Fantasy and Children's Literature at the University of Glasgow, to students of J. K. Rowling's work. In that discussion, ‘Reading Rowling as Myth Maker and Myth Re-Writer: A Conversation with Dr Dimitra Fimi,' she shared her thoughts about Rowling's creative use of mythology in Harry Potter but especially in the Cormoran Strike series.The Hogwarts Professor team asked her to join us again because of Rowling's yuletide charm bracelet gift to Strike fandom and the recent announcement of the Strike 9 title, Sleep Tight, Evangeline. Her insights about the Longfellow poem as a possible even likely source of the next book's epigraphs are engaging, but it is her expertise in the arcane area of miniature books as well as mythology and the light each shines on the two items attached to the last link of the charm bracelet that open up exciting possibilities.Her idea is that the Psalter on the ninth link of the charm bracelet may actually be, unlike the other tokens on the bracelet's nine links, an object that will play a part in the story, a miniature book. It turns out that one inch high books were something of an industry as curios in the 19th and early 20th century, a means of demonstrating technological mastery.Dr Fimi discussed several projects she has been a part of in conjunctions with nano-technologists and the librarians at the University of Glasgow's special collections division. The one that has the most obvious link to English literature is the ‘Tiny Alice project,' a contemporary effort to minituarize Lewis Carroll's Alice stories to unfathomable minuteness:The Tiny Alice Project has produced one of the world's smallest books: a tiny reproduction of Lewis Carroll's children's classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865). All 78 pages and 26,764 words of the story have been transposed on to a tiny silicon chip, with each page just the width of a human hair (60 microns). Each individual letter is just two microns high, and made from pure gold!Click on the icons below to find out more about the project, the technology behind it, and Lewis Carroll and his interest in the minuscule. Via the tabs above you can also discover the long tradition of miniature books, and teaching resources.Clip: Twixter link to tweet aboveYou can read Dr Fimi's write-up of ‘Tiny Alice' and the Miniature Book exhibition she curated at the University of Glasgow to highlight their special collection of these treasures at her 2019 blog post about them. Pictures that include annotated miniature books — copies in which their owners made notes in the miniscule margins of the printed pages — can be seen here.Later this week, Nick will be sharing his thoughts on Robert Browning's The Ring and the Book as the Ironbridge Murder story's template within Hallmarked Man, John, Nick, Sandy Hope, and Ed Shardlow will be parsing the ring within Strike8's Part Seven, and more about Longfellow's Evangeline — stay tuned!The Ten Questions Guiding Today's Conversation with Dr Fimi with the Necessary Links for Fun Follow-Up:(Intro) So everything Serious Strikers are thinking and talking about this month made me think of you, Dimitra, and to write you hat-in-hand with an invitation for your return to HogwartsProfessor to share your perspective, knowledge, and first impressions. Thank you for making time to join us!1. (John) Jumping right in, then, two of the charms on the Strike9 or ‘Evangeline' bracelet are Fimi areas of unique expertise: the Psalter and the Head of Persephone. I had urged readers to read your Miniature Books in Children's Fantasy at A Kind of Elvish Craft: The Dimitra Fimi Substack Site in the links after our conversation here last November but I confess to being surprised still when you asked for the dimensions of the Psalter charm after Nick and I posted our thoughts on the subject. For those who haven't read your ‘Miniature Books' post, please share how one of the world authorities on the writing of J. R. R. Tolkien became interested in the smallest of texts, the ‘Little Books' of 19th century printing.2. (Nick) So you asked for the dimensions of the Psalter, you weren't thinking as we were that the Psalter charms would be a box holding a folded up paper with a psalm, maybe two, inside it. You're thinking it might actually be a complete Coverdale Psalter? Is that possible?3. (John) What Nick and I hope to contribute to the nascent field of Rowling Studies, as you know, is a refocusing of the scholarship and the serious reader attention about her work on to her Lake Springs -- the biographical part of story inspiration -- her Shed Tools or intentional artistry, and the Golden Threads, the plot points and themes that run throughout her work, i.e., to bring Rowling Studies more in line with all literary scholarship about notable authors, living and dead.One of the Golden Threads we talked about in our Kanreki series last summer was the ‘Embedded Text,' the books inside a book topos that is in almost every book Rowling writes (Kanreki Golden Thread posts one and two). Detective fiction is always about an embedded text, the narrative ‘written' by the criminal to prevent the detective from reading the real story of what happened and Rowling-Galbraith often makes this narrative an actual book (Dumbledore Chocolate Frog Card, Tales of Beedle the Bard, Bombyx Mori, Talbot's ‘True Book,' The Predictions of Tycho Dodonus, etc.). How do you think a Psalter miniaturized book would appear in a Strike novel?4. (Nick) Has an author used a miniaturized book before in this way? Were there 19th Century Psalters that people wore as talismans or carried as the original Pocket Books?5. (John) And what about the Head of Persephone charm on that bracelet? It's on the ninth and last link, paired with that Psalter. You shared your first thought about the Persephone charm, a hopeful note, on the comment thread here. As our go-to authority on Greek mythology, I'm dying to know more of your thinking about (a) the specific charm and its relation to the Cupid and Psyche myth-template to the Strike series, (b) its pairing with the Psalter, and (c) its position as the last charm on the bracelet. Do you still think it's a sign that Robin will survive Sleep Tight, Evangeline?6. (Nick) As someone immersed in mythological studies and more than familiar with Rowling's use of myth, do you think the Jungian interpretation of that myth as the ‘actualization of feminine identity' is a better lens through which to read that embedded text or is the Spenserian lens of Eros/Anteros, False Cupid and Cupid more helpful? Or is this not a case of Either/Or but Both/And? Valentines Day Special7. (John) Rowling is a close reader and admirer of J. R. R. Tolkien, though that is more evident in the clear pointers to his work in her own work than from her interviews. How does her use of myth contrast with that of Tolkien and Lewis? (See John's 2008 post about Rowling's debts to Tolkien and the two part podcast with Tolkien scholars and Rowling Readers Dr Amy H Sturgis and Dr Sara Brown here and here for more on that influence.)8. (Nick) In an in-person meeting with UK Serious Strikers last week, Rowling shared with them and later via X with everyone the title of the ninth Strike novel, Sleep Tight, Evangeline. We're pretty sure that title refers to a song by an American Blues group called ‘The Whiskey Shambles' (story of the hunt, why Whiskey Shambles is a good bet). There is a famous poem, though, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow called ‘Evangeline,' one perhaps not as famous as ‘Aurora Leigh' or ‘The Ring and the Book,' other texts Rowling may have used as back-drops to her novels, but still another poem very famous in its own time akin to those epics. Is its subject matter as good a match-up with the possible direction of Sleep Tight as the Victorian poetry back-drop is with other Rowling models?9. (John) You're a native Greek speaker; what does ‘Evangeline' mean in Greek? Is it a common name in Greece or is it a ‘Virtue Name' in the Puritan tradition of grace-filled names (cf., Credence Barebone is probably a reference to an Englishman named “Praise-God Barebone, whose son Nicholas may have been given the name If-Jesus-Christ-had-not-died-for-thee-thou-hadst-been-damned[3]“).10. (Nick) Don't leave before trying to tie together the pieces of this conversation! Is there a thread joining the Psalter, the Head of Persephone, miniaturized books, and the title Sleep Tight, Evangeline?Dimitra Fimi is Professor of Fantasy and Children's Literature at the University of Glasgow and Co-Director of the Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic. Her Tolkien, Race and Cultural History won the Mythopoeic Scholarship Award for Inklings Studies and she co-edited the critical edition of A Secret Vice: Tolkien on Invented Languages which won the Tolkien Society Award for Best Book. Her Celtic Myth in Contemporary Children's Fantasy won the Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Myth and Fantasy Studies. Other work includes co-editing Sub-creating Arda: World-building in J.R.R. Tolkien's Work, its Precursors and its Legacies and Imagining the Celtic Past in Modern Fantasy. She has contributed articles for the TLS and The Conversation, and has appeared on numerous radio and TV programs.When the rightly famous and beloved ‘The Great Courses' series decided to offer a Lord of the Rings entry for their catalog of the very best in scholarship for adult-learners, they asked Dimitra Fimi to create ‘The World of J. R. R. Tolkien,' one of their most popular courses and one you can enjoy in an Audible edition.Links Promised in Conversation:A Kind of Elvish Craft: The Dimitra Fimi Substack Site* Miniature Books in Children's Fantasy* Parabasis: A Tribute to Dionysis Stavvopoulos* On Tolkien's Letter 131 (4): “Romance” vs. ScienceDimitra Fimi articles at ‘The Conversation'* After 150 years, we still haven't solved the puzzle of Alice in Wonderland (2015) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hogwartsprofessor.substack.com/subscribe

Leigh Ann welcomes back Nadia Rae Brackett on the topic of the complexities of shadow work, both exploring its misconceptions in pop culture and its deep roots in Jungian psychology. They discuss the importance of understanding the shadow as the disowned parts of the self, the role of the ego in this process, and the significance of integrating both light and dark aspects of our psyche. The conversation emphasizes the lifelong journey of shadow work, the value of external feedback, and practical approaches to engaging with our shadows for personal growth.Product Discount Codes + LinksRe-Align Your Life WorkshopJuna: Website (Discount Code: LEIGHANN)Broc Shot: Website (Discount Code: LEIGHANNLINDSEY)Hoolest: Website (Discount Code: THEACCRESCENT10)Guest InfoNadia Rae Brackett - WebsiteNadia Rae Brackett - InstagramRelated EpisodesPodcast Ep. 214: Dr. Nima Rahmany - The Fawn Response: Understanding and Overcoming Self-AbandonmentPodcast Ep. 138: Leigh Ann Lindsey - 2 Signs You Should Be Doing Subconscious Work, Soothing vs. SolvingWork w/Leigh AnnLearn: What is EVOX Therapy?Book: Schedule a Session or FREE Discovery CallMembership: What is The Healing Alchemy MembershipConnect w/Me & Learn MoreWebsiteInstagramTiktokYoutube

As more light gets shed on the contents of Jeffrey Epstein's long sought after documents during this month's Capricorn New Moon lunar cycle which began on January 18 & hit its apex at the Leo Full Moon February 1, we see a collective aha! moment awakening process dawning.But, not everyone wants to awaken from their ideological notion that a “perfect world” means one where rich elites rule through xenophobia, racism, misogyny, gender-discrimination, etc., in order to creat an "us versus them" dynamic to stay in power.This is exemplified by Saturn's move into Mars-ruled Aries today, February 13, which combines a planet that is change resistant with a sign that is action oriented. When these two meet, there are positive strides to be made if one can commit to working hard toward the achievement of a planned goal. Slow & steady wins the race, in other words, when these two combine.Pitfalls abound, however, in that Saturn's shadow side is its rigidity & tendency to linger in the past, while Mars-ruled Aries is its impulsive & impetuous nature that may result in hasty decisions that can hurt not only oneself but others.As we approach Saturn's re-entrance into Aries from now until April 13, 2028, we might ponder how this will play both throughout the collective & in our personal lives. Right now, the example in front of us, in the U.S., at least, is in the fact that rigidity on two sides of the political spectrum will cause a partial government shutdown at midnight tonight.As both Democratic & Republican senators are deeply entrenched in their respective political positions—the former on achieving future progress, the latter on staying intractably stuck in past decisions—the result is frustration.That this frustration will hit those most impacted by a lack of funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees not only the Immigration & Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) & the Customs & Border Patrol (CBP) agency, but also the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Transportation Security Agency (TSA), & the U.S. Coast Guard.Together, this will impact 260,000 federal employees, although not those in ICE or CBP, since they've been fully funded since Trump signed into law his big ugly bill last July which gave billions to the DHS for these agencies for years to come.The others, however, may see staff shortages and/or government employees working without pay until this stalemate is resolved. And that stalemate revolves around NOT sanctioning even MORE money for ICE & imposing a list of restrictions on how they are operating currently.AQUARIUS NEW MOON SOLAR ECLIPSE THEMES INCLUDE COMMUNICATION, PAPERWORK, & YOUNG PEOPLE...What's clear as this Capricorn New Moon lunar cycle comes to an end & the Aquarius New Moon solar eclipse heralds in a new one is that the times, they are a'changin'…This podcast takes a deep dive into the themes of not only this current set of upcoming eclipses—meaning both the Aquarius New Moon solar eclipse at 29'48” Aquarius on February 17 & the 12'40” Virgo Full Moon lunar eclipse March 3--but how these echo those from last September's set of eclipses.So, as resistance grow by those in power to investigating & acknowledging that the violation of societally agreed upon morals, ethics, & justice deserves to be revealed if not punished—you know, stuff like pedophilia, denying people due process, punishing immigrants' children with detention, etc.—so does the collectives' awareness that something is wrong.This solar eclipse's squares by the Aquarius Moon & Sun to Uranus in Taurus—as both Mercury & Venus in Aquarius's squares to Uranus have already foreshadowed—reveal that not everyone is in agreement that those in power deserve to remain protected by being allowed to remain hidden in the shadows.In addition, collective empathy for those who've been wronged has begun to grow since Mercury & Venus entered Pisces on February 6 & 9, respectively. And that includes empathy for the sexually abused young girls & women, to the innocent immigrants & U.S. citizens vilified (most often without proof), to the innocent children detained & incarcerated with a parent or who've been separated from parents & other loved ones.Such empathy will likely grow, especially since the Sun will enter Pisces February 18, following the February 17 solar eclipse. So too will the calls for change increase as the Aquarius Sun perfects its square to Uranus in Taurus between now & February 15/16, depending on your time zone.AMERICA'S (READ: THE PEOPLES') ATTORNEY GENERAL OR TRUMP'S PERSONAL ATTORNEY?This podcast explores also some revelations that come clear through an analyzation of U.S. Attorney General Pan Bondi's natal chart, even though we have no definite time of birth. This is especially relevant given her astoundingly combative & aggravatingly frustrating performance in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee February 11 as we approached Saturn's move into Aries on February 13.Born November 17, 1965, in Tampa, Florida, aspects within Bondi's chart reveal the origin of her discompassionate emotional relationship with women—as so clearly evidenced during her refusal to even acknowledge the existence, and the pain, of several Epstein sexual abuse victims during her recent Senate Judiciary hearing.A close look reveals how her lack of healthy nurturing also seems to block her ability to empathize with with women in general & sexual abuse victims specifically. That she also lacks air—with only Jupiter in Aquarius—shows her lack of objectivity on one hand but also her niche brilliance likely responsible for how far she's gotten in the legal hierarchy thus far.However, she also lacks fire, as Mercury in Sagittarius is her only planet in that element, & this can lead—as per Jungian psychological astrologer Richard Ideman—to a great deal of rage. These elemental lacks tend to appear during times of stress or crisis. After witnessing her arrogant & angry performance the other day: Ya think???Tune in to hear more about how Bondi's observable behavior—including her rage—is written in the aspects in her chart. And how, even though we don't know her Ascendant or house placements, we can still glean an awful lot about how & why she acts the way she does.Given that an attorney general works to apply the law equally to ALL Americans, her tendency toward obsessiveness (Mecury square Pluto) & evasive secretiveness (Sun/Neptune conjunction in Pluto-ruled Scorpio) tell us how she's often fallen short of that goal.There's more so be sure to give Karmic Evolution's Astrologically Speaking podcast a listen, starting today, February 13, @https://www.karmicevolution.com/astrologically-speakingLooking forward to seeing you later! Namaste…

In the fifth episode of Was it just a dream?, we find ourselves at sea in the Middle Ages. A raven lands on deck and transforms. What is it asking of us?Share your own commentary and read the full dream on our Substack page.Reference to Albrecht Dürer's medieval engraving Knight, Death and the Devil.Music: It was just a dream by Rafael Krux. Courtesy of the Krux Music Publishing Limited Company. 

Happy Valentine's Day!Mrs Murray met the UK StrikeFans.com contingent and Badly WiredLamp (“and friends”) on Thursday to talk about the Cormoran Strike novels. Yesterday, Friday the 13th, Rowling tweeted about the secret she had told them — the title of Strike9:Nick Jeffery found the most likely source of the title Sleep Tight, Evangeline, assuming it is not an anagram, in six minutes:BadlyWiredLamp who was at the Rowling meeting congratulated Nick on twixter seven minutes later: “Well done for finding it Nick!” with a hand salute emoji. Which semi-confirmation from a witness suggests he is spot on.Even more impressive, Nick wrote up a flash post about The Whiskey Shambles and other ‘Evangeline' possibilities at the HogwartsProfessor weblog, ‘Sleep Tight, Evangeline – Title Release for Strike 9.' Nick and John will be discussing this news as well as the Psalter and Head of Persephone charms with miniature book, Tolkien, and mythology expert Dimitra Fimi this weekend for a post here next week. See her ‘Miniature Books in Children's Fantasy' to prepare for that conversation. Stay tuned!But it's Valentine's Day! John and Nick celebrate this Hallmark Holiday with a journey through the Cormoran Strike novels' V-Day celebrations and a discussion of the various Valentines and Cupid's in the story, with special emphasis on the Cupid and Psyche myth that Rowling has suggested is the series story template.That suggestion came the week after Hallmarked Man's publication in the first of her Public Service Announcements to “Robin and Strike fans:”This image came as a surprise even to Hogwarts Professor subscribers because, though we have been writing and talking about the Cupid and Psyche myth as one of the mythological templates behind the Strike series since early 2021, it was the first time Rowling had acknowledged this publicly. Since the September revelation of this connection by the author and the appearance of the head of Persephone at the end of her Strike9 clues Christmas Charm bracelet, Strike fandom is now on board with the idea. Which on-boarding Nick and John celebrate with this Hearts and Flowers conversation, in which:* Nick reviews the Valentines Day events in the Strike series, the importance of which makes 14 February to Serious Strikers what Halloween is to Harry Potter fans;* John discusses the post American Bar office scene in Troubled Blood that let the cat out of the bag about the Cupid and Psyche myth just beneath the Strellacott romance;* Nick updates that with Rowling's PSAs and charm pointers to the Trials of Psyche in Robin's story;* John lays out how and where Hallmarked Man features Valentine Longcaster, the character with the Cupid name, and a Valentine's Day conflict with dogs to Guard the Gates of Hell (from charting Parts Five and Six);* Nick journeys back to Cuckoo's Calling and explains how Lula Landry's death and Robin's first meeting with Strike are twist on Cupid and Psyche with Venus, Psyche, and Cupid, Hephaestus, and Ares all with their equivalents in Charlotte, Robin, and Cormoran;* John ups the ante of the conversation by bringing in Edmund Spenser and C. S. Lewis, two writers Rowling loves, both of whom wrote stories that turn on Cupid and Psyche, and suggesting that Galbraith, in using the Eros-Anteros distinction of those writers in the Strike series is answering allegorically the core question of human life: whether to focus the soul on the ephemeral body and its desires or on the noetic faculty of soul, the Heart, logos within us;* Nick and John then discuss Robin and Strike's individual relationships Cuckoo to Hallmarked in light of Cupid-False Cupid and taking turns going through the Strike novels with a look at the principal murder victim and murderer and their respective relationships;* John shares the Jungian interpretation of Cupid and Psyche as the mythic representation of feminine actualization, the chrysalis of female identity;* And more!Below are the links to posts on this subject mentioned in their back and forth and to a translation of the original myth. Happy Valentines Day — and stand by for more discussion of Sleep Tight, Evangeline, the Psalter and Persephone Charms, and all things Strike and Mythology with Dimitra Fimi.Links Mentioned in the Valentines Day Celebration Conversation:Rowling Points to Myth of Cupid and Psyche in order to Console Strike Fans Disappointed with Hallmarked Man (8 September 2025, Nick Jeffery)Nick shares the context of Rowling's tweet (fan disappointment!) and the background information about the illustration she chose for it.The Most Pleasant and Delectable Tale of the Marriage of Cupid and Psyche (Apuleius)A translation of the Silver Age Latin tale from Apuleius' Golden Ass.A Mythological Key to Cormoran Strike? The Myth of Eros, Psyche, and Venus (22 April 2021, John Granger)The first post to discuss Rowling's use of this specific myth within Cormoran Strike, it is essential reading and comes in four parts:* a discussion of Rowling's stated beliefs about the soul and how it is the focus of her story-telling,* a review of her psychological artistry in Potter and the post Potter novels and screenplays,* a synopsis of the Eros and Psyche myth, and* a point to point look at the parallels in the story thus far with speculation about novels to come.Robin's Two Perfumes: The Meaning of Philosychos and Narciso (9 June 2021, John Granger)The names of Robin's baseline perfume, Philosychos, and the one she and Strike choose at story's end, Narciso, both point less to the bedroom than to Robin's allegorical, psychological, and mythological role as Psyche in the series.Erich Neumann in his Amor and Psyche: The Psychic Development of the Feminine describes this discipline as a “prohibition against pity” which “signifies Psyche's struggle against the feminine nature.” …Psyche's last trial involves her having to confront death, a “marriage” to which she was condemned as a sacrifice at the story's start, a meeting she can only survive by transcending her feminine qualities of nurturing and pity. She must become, if only temporarily, a narcissist to pass through Hades and return to the world of the Sun and to Cupid. The myth, in Jungian lights, is about her transcending the accidental self, here her feminine and sexual relation to Eros or Cupid, for “ego-stability” leading to “individuation,” ascent to the greater, immortal Self.Robin as resident psychologist and loving soul is the Psyche-cipher of the Strike mysteries. She differs from the relatively passive Human Beauty of the myth in her active and determined “struggle against the feminine nature,” her “What. I. Do!” She not only wrestles with her desires for domesticity and maternity in her thinking but stands up to Strike-Cupid in their Valentine's Day Street Fight and demands his respect or at least more considerate behavior. But she is still struggling with her difficulty to be the narcissist rather than the Great Mother when circumstances and her heroine's journey of psychological individuation demand that.Reading Rowling as Myth Maker and Myth Re-Writer: A Conversation with Dr Dimitra FimiNick Jeffery and John Granger converse with Dr Dimitra Fimi about Harry Potter, Cormoran Strike, Tolkien, Jane Eyre, and the Mythological Artistry of J. K. Rowling, Hogwarts Saga to Hallmarked ManThe Hallmarked Man's Mythological Template‘Cupid and Psyche's importance for grasping the depths of Strike 8, from the “necessity” of the Silver Vault and the three men in Robin's life, to spaghetti carbonara and ‘Maid of the Silver Sea'Ink Black Heart: The Mythic Backdrop (10 September 2022, John Granger)What Rowling is depicting in Robin's journey through the events and mystery of Ink Black Heart include a trap set by Venus, one that takes Robin to a personal and professional underworld or hell, her survival and endurance of every temptation by her determination to be steely rather than empathetic, especially with respect to a certain “lame fellow” (!), and her re-surfacing from hell a changed person, one worthy of begrudging Venereal approval (or Zeus' intervention — Rokeby!).Ink Black Heart: Strike as Zeus to Robin's Leda and Cupid to Mads' Psyche (10 November 2022, John Granger)These traditional portrayals of the every person's human and divine aspects, soul and spirit as man and woman in dynamic, cathartic relationship — think Romeo and Juliet, Redcrosse Knight and Una, Cupid and Psyche — are perhaps, with her alchemical symbolism, sequencing, and coloring, Rowling's greatest literary ‘reach' and achievement in the Strike series, albeit one largely lost on her her vast reading audience. The deliberate conjunction-melange of archetypal psychology, mythology, and spiritual allegory in these novels is, especially in combination with her hermetic artistry, intertextual playfulness (Aurora Leigh!), and chiastic structures, testimony to the author being one of the most accomplished and challenging writers of the age in addition to the most popular (and least well understood, even by her fans).Hallmarked Man: Freemasonry and J. K. Rowling (7 February 2024, Nick Jeffery)The Royal Arch degree is unique in England for including the ceremony of “Passing the Veils” symbolising the path to enlightenment that a mason undergoes as he progresses in the craft. Given Peter Rowling's upward social mobility from working class apprentice to engineer and moving from the Bristol suburbs to middle class Tutshill, it isn't beyond reason to wonder if Peter might have been tempted by the social and career advantages that freemasonry might have offered him and exposed a young Joanne to some of the symbolism.Edinburgh, as well as being the home of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, is also home to if not the oldest lodge in the world, then at least the one with the oldest records. Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel) No. 1 has minutes of meetings from 31st July 1599. There have long been arguments between this Lodge and the one in Kilwinning on the other coast of Scotland as to which is the oldest. (see IVº of the Rite of Baldwyn above)J. K. Rowling's ‘G-Spot' and ‘Triple Play:' The Lake & Shed Secret of Her Success (21 September 2024, John Granger)I want to try tonight to explain as succinctly — and as provocatively — as possible why I think Rowling's ‘Lake and Shed' metaphorical explanation of how she writes offers a compelling reason for both why she writes and why readers around the world love her novels the way they do. I call this her ‘G-Spot' and ‘Triple Play' because it is her point of singular genius, the defining quality that separates her from contemporary story-tellers, which involves ‘Shed' artistry of three particular literary tools, all subliminal, which work together to achieve her aims.The Hallmarked Man's Flood of Names, Characters, and Plots (22 September 2025, John Granger)Rowling's seven Shed tools — psychomachia, literary alchemy, ring composition, misdirection towards defamiliarization, Christian symbolism, mythology, and inter-intratextuality (writing about reading and writing) — are all about the transformation of the human soul by cathartic experience in the imaginative heart, i.e., our spiritual reorientation. These traditional tools alone don't do it, of course; her capacity for creating archetypal characters that we care about in profound fashion is what gives the tools their grip on the heart.But, if a writer uses these tools in his or her Shed, the game being played and its stakes are not in question. Everything Rowling has written to date, with greater or lesser success (largely dependent on her control of the final product, cough*Warner Brothers*cough), shares this aim. Her global popularity testifies that much more often than not she hits her target to the delight of her readers.I assume this was her aim in Hallmarked Man. It's early days on the full exegesis of Strike8 in light of Rowling's Shed tools, Lake springs, and Golden Threads, but there are encouraging signs. My third reading of the book included my first ‘Aha!' moments with respect to the mythological template of the series, the Shed tool Rowling was openly urging her readers to think about in her recent Cupid and Psyche tweet.Jungian Interpretations of ‘Cupid and Psyche:'* Erich Neumann: Amor and Psyche: The Psychic Development of the Feminine (A Commentary on the Tale by Apuleius)* Paul Diel: Symbolism in Greek Mythology: Human Desire and Its Transformations (A “psychological study of the symbols condensed in the fate of the mythological hero”)* Robert A. Johnson: SHE: Understanding Feminine Psychology (An interpretation based on the myth of Amor and Psyche and based on Jungian mythological principles)* Marie-Louise von Franz: Golden Ass of Apuleius: The Liberation of the Feminine in Man (originally A Psychological Interpretation of The Golden Ass of Apuleius)‘Tamspells' Point to Point Correspondence List of Events in the Strike-Ellacott Novels and the Myth of Cupid and PsycheThe list ‘Tamspells' made will be Nick and John's starting point in their upcoming conversation with her about how to see the myth beneath the surface of the storyCupid and Psyche Myth Highlights to Look for in Your Review at Home of the Strike Series:* Jealousy of Venus* Psyche's Wedding/Funeral March to Mountain Crag* Psyche Rescued by Cupid, stuck with his own arrow* Retreat to Hidden Castle, Love in Darkness* The Two Sisters* The Confrontation with Lamp and Knife* Psyche's Return Home; Death of Sisters (Pan cameo)* Psyche's Search for Cupid/Venus: Ceres Interview* Brought to Venus (Worry and Sadness)* First Trial: Seeds and Grains (Ant)* Second Trial: Wool from Golden Sheep (Reed)* Third Trial: Crystal glass for Black Stygian water (Zeus, Eagle)* Persephone Odyssey: Box for Beauty (Tower instructions)* Barley Cakes for Cerberus and Two Coins for Charon* Must ignore: “a lame man driving a mule loaded with sticks, a dead man swimming in the river that separates the world of the living from the world of the dead, and old women weaving.”* Meal in Underworld with Persephone* Return Trip, Falling to Temptation* Cupid intervention; intersession and deal with Zeus* Olympian Court Date* Marriage of Cupid and Psyche post Ambrosia, birth of PleasureStrike Novel Victim Eros Anteros Murderer Eros Anteros Cuckoo's Calling Lula Landry Evan Duffield Marlene Higson,Yvette Bristow, Guy Some, Jonah Agyuman John Bristow Alison Creswell Yvette Bristow The Silkworm Owen Quine Kathryn Kent Leonora/Orlando Elizabeth Tassel Michael Fancourt Owen Quine? Career of Evil Kelsey Platt Rock Band Leader Ray Williams, (Hazel Furley) Donny Laing Rhona Bunyan, hostage women Agnes Waite Lethal White Jasper Chiswell Ornella Seraphin, Kinvara Patricia Fleetwood Raphael Chiswell Kinvara Hanratty Ornella Seraphin Troubled Blood Margot Bamborough Paul Satchwell Roy/Anna Phipps Una Janice Beattie Steven Douthwaite/Diamond Dead Mother Dennis Creed Louise Tucker Agnes Waite Ink Black Heart Edie Ledwell Philip Ormond? Joshua Blay, Grant Heather Ledwell Gus Upcott Anomie/Paperwhite, Vikas BhardwajMorehouse Katya Upcott The Running Grave Daiyu Wace, Kevin Pirbright (Jacob) Louise Pirbright Abigail Glover Patrick, Baz Jennifer Wace The Hallmarked Man Tyler Powell Anne-Marie Morgan Chloe Griffiths/Jolanda Lindvall Ian Griffith Jolanda/Sapphire Rita Lindvall? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit hogwartsprofessor.substack.com/subscribe

How can ancient spiritual practices be reanimated for modern life? In this compelling episode, John sits down again with therapist Seth Allison to delve deep into the themes of suffering, trust, and growth within the frame of internal family systems therapy and Jungian analysis. Seth discusses his transformative experiences over the past few years, including the impact of previous conversations with John and his own journey through a profound period of liminality. They touch upon voluntary necessity, the role of suffering in cultivating faith, and the transformative power of relationships and community in overcoming personal crises. Seth also highlights the significance of humility in effective leadership and his aspirations for fostering supportive, growth-oriented environments in both personal and professional settings. Seth Allison is a psychotherapist and depth-oriented thinker whose work integrates attachment theory, Internal Family Systems, and Jungian psychology with spiritual and existential inquiry. Drawing from both clinical training and lived experience, he specializes in helping individuals navigate midlife transitions, relational struggles, addiction dynamics, and identity shifts. Seth's approach emphasizes authenticity, relational depth, and the courageous engagement of suffering as a doorway to growth and deeper participation in life. Seth Allison: LinkedIn The Cost of Discipleship   Murray Stein The Serenity Prayer    00:00 — Welcome to the Lectern 05:00 — Voluntary necessity and spiritual depth 08:00 — Bonhoeffer's profound insights 11:00 — Personal reflections and resonance realization 25:30 — Exploring liminality and midlife transitions 29:54 —  You can't serve money and God, and money doesn't just mean money, it means ego, success and accomplishment.  52:00 — Hermes and the concept of love addiction 52:30 — The arena of partnership and self-discovery 54:00 — Addiction and attachment strategies 56:30 — Faith and recovery: a new perspective 58:30 — The role of symbols and sensory experience 59:30 — Transcendence and metanoia 01:07:30 — The importance of community in recovery 01:18:30 — Navigating betrayal and suffering 01:35:00 — Leadership and humility 01:44:00 — The subversive power of trust ---  Want to go deeper? Join the Lectern platform on Teachable for full-length courses, guided series, and structured pathways into the ideas explored here.   John Vervaeke:  Website: https://johnvervaeke.com/ Twitter: https://x.com/DrJohnVervaeke YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@johnvervaeke/videos Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke   Thank you for Listening!

What if the machine controlling your life isn't out there—but inside you? Using The Matrix as a lens, this post exposes how maladaptive obsessive‑compulsive personality patterns act like internal programs that hijack authenticity, drain energy, and keep us locked in a dream of perfection, urgency, and control. Drawing from psychological research and Jungian theory, it reveals how these inner mechanisms develop, how they deceive us, and—most importantly—how we can take the red pill, wake up, and choose a more conscious, compassionate way of living.

When Your Identity Shatters: A Therapist’s Journey Through Suffering What if the moment your entire identity falls apart isn’t a breakdown but a sacred initiation? What if the culture that taught you to pathologise your pain has stolen your capacity to transform through it? For over 28,000 hours, Dr. John W. Price has sat knee to knee with people in their most debilitating shatterings. As a Jungian psychotherapist with a doctorate in depth psychology, he doesn’t just understand suffering intellectually. He has walked through the fire himself, and it’s that lived experience that makes him one of the most compelling guides for anyone navigating identity crisis, spiritual awakening, or the terrifying process of becoming who you actually are. In this profound conversation, Dr Price reveals why tying your self-worth to your net worth creates a dangerous trap, how “sacred refusal” becomes an act of devotion, and why the moments when everything crumbles are actually the gateways to transformation our modern world has forgotten how to honour. The Man Who Lost Everything to Find His Calling Dr. Price’s path to the therapist’s chair began on stage. From age six, music was his calling. He was self-motivated, wild, rebellious, smoking in the boys’ room while dreaming of guitars and record deals. By his mid-twenties, he had signed that deal and was touring nationally, living the dream he had fantasised about since childhood. Then everything came crashing down. The birth of his son, the collapse of an unhealthy relationship, and the sudden weight of single fatherhood shattered every identity he had built. He weighed 35 pounds less from stress, found himself in court battles, and sat in a therapist’s office feeling completely lost. “I had a shattering of an identity,” he recalls. “My whole life dream was disrupted.” But in that therapist’s chair, working with a brilliant woman named Charlene who introduced him to Buddhist meditation, something shifted. Dr. Price realised he didn’t just want healing. He wanted to offer it. That moment of recognition sent him back to school, this time as a ravenous student pursuing a master’s in clinical psychology and eventually a doctorate in Jungian depth psychology. Why We Pathologise Our Own Initiations One of Dr. Price’s most powerful insights centres on how our culture has lost the capacity to recognise transformation for what it is. “Because our culture doesn’t really have an orientation to initiate us into this kind of process, we pathologise it, and we think that something is wrong,” he explains. When your identity crumbles, when the life that looked good on paper suddenly feels unbearable, when you can no longer perform the role everyone expects of you, our society tells you something is broken. But Dr. Price sees these moments differently. They are sacred shatterings, initiations that ancient cultures would have honoured with ritual and community support. The problem for so many high achievers is that they have tied their sense of self-worth entirely to their net worth, their title, their role. When that foundation shifts, they don’t just lose a job or a relationship. They lose themselves. “How do you actually trust the fall rather than resist it?” becomes the central question. Sacred Refusal and Living Mythically Drawing on wisdom from his mentor Richard Rohr and Jungian analyst James Hollis, Dr. Price introduces the concept of “sacred refusal.” This is the practice of stopping performance, of refusing to comply with systems that don’t serve your soul. “Any win for the self, or the soul, is experienced as a death by the socialised ego,” he teaches, quoting Hollis. This is why leaving family systems feels so terrifying. Why creating your own journey requires walking into the wilderness of the unknown. Why individuation always costs something. But the alternative is living according to control-based systems, whether religious, political, economic, or corporate, that keep you performing and compliant rather than transforming and free. Dr. Price’s vision is one of resurrection. Not just personal healing, but remembering that life is a sacred text, not a self-improvement plan. We are stories within a story, and transformation isn’t about getting better. It’s about experiencing life more completely and fully. Three Golden Nuggets Every Emotion Is a Teacher – Stay with what hurts long enough to hear its wisdom. Refusal Is Devotion – What you stop performing becomes sacred space. Live Mythically – See life as a sacred text, not a self-improvement plan. About Dr. John W. Price Dr. John W. Price is a licensed psychotherapist, Jungian scholar, and host of The Sacred Speaks podcast. He holds a Master’s in Clinical Psychology and a Doctorate in Jungian Psychology, and serves as President of the Board at the Jung Center of Houston. With over 28,000 clinical hours and 800,000 podcast downloads, he guides people through grief, identity collapse, and spiritual awakening. You can watch the video of the conversation on YouTube Find Out More About Dr. John W. Price Website: www.drjohnwprice.com Instagram: @thesacredspeaks YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheSacredSpeaks

Can we do more than talk in talk therapy? Our guest Dr. Michael Mollura speaks about some of his creative approaches to psychotherapy including music therapy, dreamwork, Jungian perspectives, and more! 03:03 — Dr. Michael Mollura's Background: Music, Psychology, and Creativity 05:31 — Why Suppressed Creativity Can Cause Emotional Symptoms 07:54 — Setting Dreams to Music: The Acoustics of the Unconscious 08:31 — Jungian Dream Work and Depth Psychology Explained 10:52 — Why Symptoms Are Symbols in Dream and Depth Therapy 14:23 — How to Begin Interpreting Dreams: Start with Mood, Not Meaning 17:12 — Common Mistakes People Make When Analyzing Dreams 23:00 — The Power of Dream Details and Imagery in Therapy 29:16 — Phenomenology in Dream Work: Experiencing Dreams Through the Senses 35:49 — A Listener Dream about Judy Garland: an Example of Symbolic Meaning in Dream Analysis. 43:34 — Dream Music Demonstration: Improvising Soundtracks to Dreams 46:49 — Therapy as Improvisation: Music, Energy, and Human Connection 50:39 — Final Thoughts: Dreams as Stepping Stones Out of Chaos Here is a clip of Dr Mollura’s dream soundtracks which we played on the show called “Dream Music Live: Little Boy.” https://ksqd.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Dream-Music-Live-Little-Boy.mp3 And another one called “Whirling through the Infinite Void.” https://ksqd.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/MOLLURA-Twirling-Through-the-Infinite-w-vox.mp3 Find a short video clip of the conversation @experientialdreamwork on YouTube on the “Dream Journal shorts” playlist, or click here to access the latest playlist. Find the full video record of the conversation @ExperientialDreamwork on YouTube on the “Dream Journal podcast FULL LENGTH VIDEOS” playlist, or click here to access the latest shows: BIO: Dr. Michael Mollura is a licensed clinical psychologist with a Ph.D from Pacifica Graduate Institute and a Master’s Degree in Performance Studies from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Find our guest at DrMichaelMollura.com. This show, episode number 349, was recorded during a live broadcast on February  7, 2026 at KSQD.org, community radio of Santa Cruz. Here are links to some other Dream Journal episodes you might be interested in: Using Dreams in Therapy and also Dream Telepathy with Suzanne Maniss, PhD Creating Soundtracks for Dreams: The Healing Power of Music with Dr Michael Mollura Intro and outro music by Mood Science. Ambient music new every week by Rick Kleffel. Archived music can be found at Pandemiad.com. Many thanks to Rick for also engineering the show and to Erik Nelson for answering the phones. SHARE A DREAM FOR THE SHOW or a question or enquire about being a guest on the podcast by emailing Katherine Bell at katherine@ksqd.org. Follow on LI, IG, YT, FB, & LT @ExperientialDreamwork #thedreamjournal. To learn more or to inquire about exploring your own dreams go to ExperientialDreamwork.com. The Dream Journal aims to: Increase awareness of and appreciation for nightly dreams. Inspire dream sharing and other kinds of dream exploration as a way of adding depth and meaningfulness to lives and relationships. Improve society by the increased empathy, emotional balance, and sense of wonder which dream exploration invites. A dream can be meaningful even if you don’t know what it means. The Dream Journal is produced at and airs on KSQD Santa Cruz, 90.7 FM. Catch it streaming LIVE at KSQD.org 10-11am Pacific Time on Saturdays. Call or text with your dreams or questions at 831-900-5773 or email at onair@ksqd.org. Podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms the Monday following the live show. The complete KSQD Dream Journal podcast page can be found at ksqd.org/the-dream-journal/. Closed captioning is available on the YouTube version of this podcast and an automatically generated transcript is available at Apple Podcasts within 24 hours of posting. Thanks for being a Dream Journal listener! Available on all major podcast platforms. Rate it, review it, subscribe, and tell your friends.

In this deep and revealing conversation, Jungian psychoanalyst Susan Schwartz explores the hidden psychology of narcissism, love, trauma bonds, and why relationships with narcissists feel so addictive yet devastating. Drawing on Jungian theory, mythology, and decades of clinical work, she explains why narcissism forms, why empaths are drawn in, why healing a narcissist rarely works, and how real recovery comes from self-knowledge, boundaries, and inner work. Book - An Analytical Exploration of Love and Narcissism: https://amzn.to/452lvro

Get ready to jump into the escape pod for a stellar celebration! In this high-energy episode of the Star Wars Escape Pod, hosts Josh, Blake, and Bryce ring in Star Wars Podcast Day 2026. Joining the crew is the brilliant Dr. Steve Ellerhoff, author of Jung and Star Wars: A Contemporary Mythology, who brings a wonderful perspective as we look at the mythology from a Jung lens. From the nostalgic "artifact" of old Star Wars Insider advertisements and the rising cost of lightsaber collectibles to a mind-bending analysis of Darth Vader as a "shadow figure" and his "golden" connection to C-3PO, this episode blends fan-fueled fun with profound insights. Whether you're here for the "another happy landing" vibes or a Master's class in Jungian archetypes, this is an episode you won't want to abandon ship on! Stick around until the very end for a hilarious, non-scripted surprise that captures the true spirit of the Star Wars Escape Pod crew! Don't forget to check out those links at the bottom here! https://www.sgellerhoff.com/ SIGN UP FOR JUNG ARCHADEMY! Use Promo Code: JEDI2026 https://www.jungarchademy.com/star-wars-2026 Purchase Your Copy of Jung and Star Wars...! https://www.routledge.com/Jung-and-Star-Wars-A-Contemporary-Mythology/Ellerhoff/p/book/9781041033523 Star Wars Podcast Day https://x.com/StarWarsPodDay ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Check out the Star Wars Archives link in our description for a database of all 400+ episodes! Orbitkey Disney Collection Add a sprinkle of Disney magic to your everyday carry. The Disney x Orbitkey Collection features fun, functional accessories inspired by Disney characters, designed to make staying organised feel like magic. https://www.orbitkey.com/pages/disney?srsltid=AfmBOorl0UJrj6Skr7fWecL5ZzpxJ6tt757WShCMY3XcCGsLaXPwzBUw Kirk is on YouTube: @kirkmihelakos https://www.youtube.com/designedbykirk Darian is on YouTube: @TheManDarian https://www.youtube.com/@TheManDarian ———————————————————————— Star Wars Escape Pod

In this conversation, Ellen Emmet reflects on her path into Jungian analysis and how the teachings of Carl Jung continue to shape her inner life, clinical work, and spiritual inquiry. Together, we explore what it means to hold depth psychology and nondual realization in the same field—without collapsing one into the other. The dialogue moves through questions of decolonizing therapy, the subtle dynamics of spiritual bypass, and the kind of deep listening required when working with the unconscious—both personal and collective. Ellen speaks to the body as a threshold into the psyche's wilderness, and to the necessity of staying in relationship with what is unresolved, uncomfortable, and unfinished. Threaded throughout is a concern for the wider world: how collective trauma, ancestral memory, and the current socio-political moment ask to be included in spiritual and therapeutic work—not bypassed. This is a conversation about remembrance, embodiment, and the slow work of integration in times of upheaval. Ellen offers meetings and retreats through The Awakening Body, an experiential exploration rooted in nondual inquiry, Authentic Movement, and direct listening to lived experience. She also maintains a private psychotherapy practice and facilitates Authentic Movement groups. EllenEmmet.com Topics 00:00 Introduction and Guest Overview 01:05 Reflecting on Past Conversations 01:41 Journey into Jungian Analysis 02:50 Exploring Carl Jung's Theories 05:31 The Process of Individuation 13:17 Decolonizing Therapy 16:40 Spiritual Bypassing and Social Issues 20:48 Facing the Darkness: Confronting Fear and Avoidance 22:17 The Deadly Silence: Censorship in Spiritual Spaces 23:19 Heartbreak as a Spiritual Connection 26:09 The Power of Collective Healing 28:03 Listening with Reverence and Reverie 36:09 The Wildness of the Body: Embracing Natural Movement 39:39 Concluding Thoughts and Future Connections Support the mission of SAND and the production of this podcast by becoming a SAND Member

In Hollywood Haunts the World: An Investigation into the Cinema of Occulted Taboos (Headpress, 2026), Robert Guffey deconstructs the most powerful taboos of the twentieth century (and the initial decades of the twenty-first century) by analyzing how disturbing and transgressive ideas involving Theosophy, Gnosticism, Freemasonry, Darwinian Evolution, Surrealism, Freudian and Jungian psychology, race relations, paranoia, UFOs, xenophobia, political conspiracies, the JFK assassination, virtual reality, and alternate dimensions have been reflected in films — both American and foreign — throughout the past one hundred years. Popular films and TV shows that fall under cutting-edge scrutiny include Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley, Larry Wade Carell's Girl Next, Matt Shakman's WandaVision, Anthony and Joe Russo's Avengers: Infinity War, Scott Derrickson's Dr. Strange, Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One, Jennifer Kent's The Babadook, Christopher Nolan's Inception, Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, Vince Gilligan's Breaking Bad, Oliver Stone's JFK, Mark Frost and David Lynch's Twin Peaks, John Carpenter's They Live, Alan Pakula's The Parallax View, John Frankenheimer's The Manchurian Candidate, Jack Arnold's It Came from Outer Space, Edgar G. Ulmer's The Man from Planet X, Robert Florey's Murders in the Rue Morgue, Buster Keaton's Sherlock Jr., and Victor Sjöström's The Phantom Carriage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In Hollywood Haunts the World: An Investigation into the Cinema of Occulted Taboos (Headpress, 2026), Robert Guffey deconstructs the most powerful taboos of the twentieth century (and the initial decades of the twenty-first century) by analyzing how disturbing and transgressive ideas involving Theosophy, Gnosticism, Freemasonry, Darwinian Evolution, Surrealism, Freudian and Jungian psychology, race relations, paranoia, UFOs, xenophobia, political conspiracies, the JFK assassination, virtual reality, and alternate dimensions have been reflected in films — both American and foreign — throughout the past one hundred years. Popular films and TV shows that fall under cutting-edge scrutiny include Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley, Larry Wade Carell's Girl Next, Matt Shakman's WandaVision, Anthony and Joe Russo's Avengers: Infinity War, Scott Derrickson's Dr. Strange, Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One, Jennifer Kent's The Babadook, Christopher Nolan's Inception, Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, Vince Gilligan's Breaking Bad, Oliver Stone's JFK, Mark Frost and David Lynch's Twin Peaks, John Carpenter's They Live, Alan Pakula's The Parallax View, John Frankenheimer's The Manchurian Candidate, Jack Arnold's It Came from Outer Space, Edgar G. Ulmer's The Man from Planet X, Robert Florey's Murders in the Rue Morgue, Buster Keaton's Sherlock Jr., and Victor Sjöström's The Phantom Carriage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/film

In Hollywood Haunts the World: An Investigation into the Cinema of Occulted Taboos (Headpress, 2026), Robert Guffey deconstructs the most powerful taboos of the twentieth century (and the initial decades of the twenty-first century) by analyzing how disturbing and transgressive ideas involving Theosophy, Gnosticism, Freemasonry, Darwinian Evolution, Surrealism, Freudian and Jungian psychology, race relations, paranoia, UFOs, xenophobia, political conspiracies, the JFK assassination, virtual reality, and alternate dimensions have been reflected in films — both American and foreign — throughout the past one hundred years. Popular films and TV shows that fall under cutting-edge scrutiny include Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley, Larry Wade Carell's Girl Next, Matt Shakman's WandaVision, Anthony and Joe Russo's Avengers: Infinity War, Scott Derrickson's Dr. Strange, Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One, Jennifer Kent's The Babadook, Christopher Nolan's Inception, Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, Vince Gilligan's Breaking Bad, Oliver Stone's JFK, Mark Frost and David Lynch's Twin Peaks, John Carpenter's They Live, Alan Pakula's The Parallax View, John Frankenheimer's The Manchurian Candidate, Jack Arnold's It Came from Outer Space, Edgar G. Ulmer's The Man from Planet X, Robert Florey's Murders in the Rue Morgue, Buster Keaton's Sherlock Jr., and Victor Sjöström's The Phantom Carriage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/popular-culture

Artist and former scientist Enrique Martínez Celaya and Jungian psychoanalyst James Hollis join me to discuss their new book, Tending the Fire: Creativity, Purpose, and the Unfolding Self, published by Chiron Publications on Feb. 1, 2026.

In this episode, Jeremiah and E discuss the Jungian concept of the Shadow Self.  The Shadow Self tends to stay hidden, sometimes intentionally, and sometimes as parts of ourselves that are so quiet we lose track of the them.  "Working on ourselves" has its limits.  Shadow Work attempts to shed a light on what has been forgotten, helping us see ourselves in wholeness.As always, thank you for listening along with us.  If you'd like to know more about the podcast or if you'd like to connect with us, please visit our website at https://goodtotalk.co. Also, for more rich media content, check out our sister project Good To Self at https://goodtoself.co.

John is a Depth Psychotherapist, Jungian scholar, musician, podcast host (The Sacred Speaks) and the co-founder of The Center for the Healing Arts and Sciences. John sees the sacred in most things. We talk death, aging, decay … "human-ing", questioning our myths, nourishing the mundane, music, the multiplicity of the masculine, blood rites of passage, disrupting our filters and navigating the mush. A fun episode all the way through. "Give me the weird". Smoking in the Boys Room, https://youtu.be/PMXg_KAe5yc?si=xgGd2u62aWh1zX7r John, Website: https://www.drjohnwprice.com/ The Sacred Speaks Podcast YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/thesacredspeaks IG: @thesacredspeaks Centre for the Healing Arts and Science: https://www.thecenterforhas.com/ Album, Questionably Red: https://open.spotify.com/album/0bDYLBuKJ3PFBCh5rlUhdT?si=U3NoHo1iSg6wQo9_7HXOrw To give to the Behind Greatness podcast, please visit here: https://behindgreatness.org. As a charity, tax receipts are issued to donors

When setting off on any journey, it's best to know your intended destination in advance. On the 12th Step journey, to use the Big Book's original wording, that means following the 12 Steps to arrive at a transformational spiritual experience - one powerful enough to overcome addiction. Of course, the wording of the 12th Step was soon changed to “a spiritual awakening” not wanting to scare newcomers away. But when Bill Wilson tried changing it back to the original, AA wouldn't let him.This single episode describes the “psychic change” the Steps are intended to bring about using three quotes to describe the experience. First, a definition that originated with William James in his Varieties of Religious Experience; second, the description contained in the Big Book; and finally, a helpful quote from Jungian author Robert A. Johnson's book Transformation.  These quotes are contained in a handout found in the show notes.Show notes: What Is a Psychic Change or Spiritual ExperienceQuantum Change by Professor William MillerTransformation by Robert A. JohnsonJung's Answer to Job https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Answer_to_Job

On episode 251, we welcome Patricia Martin to discuss identity formation in the modern world, our preoccupation with external validation and why it's unsustainable in the internet age, Carl Jung's understanding of the persona and our tendency to perform, the persona and chronic self-doubt, socially prescribed perfectionism and the fog of self, physical practices to re-center oneself, and the importance of cultivating meaning for identity integration. Patricia Martin is the author of four books, a researcher, and speaker. Her work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Huffington Post, The New York Times, and Psyche Magazine. For over twenty-five years, influential brands and non-profits sought her insight as a consultant, including American Express, Oracle, and The New York Philharmonic, among others. She holds an MFA in nonfiction from Bennington College, with post-graduate work in medical narrative at Duke University, and Jungian theory at the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago, where she gives workshops and hosts the popular podcast, Jung in the World. Her new book, available March 5, 2026, is called Will the Future Like You?: Reflections on the Age of Hyper-Reinvention.   | Patricia Martin | ► Website | https://patricia-martin.com ► Twitter | https://x.com/PatriciaMartin ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/patriciamartin33 ► Substack | https://culturescout.substack.com ► Podcast | https://www.youtube.com/@JungInstituteChicago/videos ► Will the Future Like You? Book | https://amzn.to/3ZgU2in Where you can find us: | Seize The Moment Podcast | ► Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/SeizeTheMoment ► Twitter | https://twitter.com/seize_podcast ► Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/seizethemoment ► TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@seizethemomentpodcast  

I don't usually post public criticism. It's just not really my mode. I'm far more interested in dialogue, curiosity, and building ideas than tearing other people's work apart.But in this episode, I reflect on why I found a recent Jungian podcast on polyamory genuinely disappointing—not simply because I disagree with its conclusions, but because I expected more depth, more reflexivity, and more psychological subtlety from a tradition that prides itself on precisely those things.I explore the limits of how polyamory was framed in that conversation, including the use of straw-man arguments, the assumption that sexuality is fundamentally about attachment, and the tendency to psychologize or spiritualize lived relational realities into “inner” symbolic processes. Along the way, I ask a deeper question: if we're going to analyze the unconscious motivations of people who practice polyamory, are we also willing to examine our own unconscious reactions against it?This is not an episode defending or promoting any particular relationship structure. It's an invitation to take depth psychology seriously—especially when it becomes morally or emotionally charged—and to ask whether suspicion, discomfort, and archetypal loyalty are being mistaken for psychological insight.In other words: what happens when a depth tradition stops turning its tools back on itself?

Building on their recent podcast episode on Kung Fu Panda (John Stevenson & Mark Osborne, 2008) with screenwriter John Yorke, Alex takes Chris through the mechanics and mysteries involved in the hero's journey, Joseph Campbell's famous structure and patterning of narrative, to discuss how such storytelling archetypes link to Jungian approaches towards the process of character individuation. Topics include the big-screen reworkings of the hero's journey and its industry function as a screenwriting template; theorisations of form and formalist frameworks for understanding narrative organisation; Campbell's interests in the traces of our unconscious mind as found in collective archetypes that surround culture; and the way that the formula for heroic action and its calls to adventure can and do work within the creative spaces of fantasy. **Fantasy/Animation theme tune composed by Francisca Araujo** **As featured on Feedspot's 25 Best London Education Podcasts** **As featured on MillionPodcast's Best 10 UK Animation Podcasts and Best 60 Movie Podcasts in the UK**

Alyssa shares her story of recovery, healing, and coming back into the body — from early addiction and violence, through sobriety, somatic repair, and spiritual integration.She speaks openly about a teenage descent into substance use, relationships shaped by trauma, and the moment that interrupted the cycle and opened a different path. From there, Alyssa reflects on the role of 12-step recovery, the slow rebuilding of self-worth, and the realization that healing is not about fixing the self, but learning to relate to it differently.The episode weaves Jungian shadow work, ancestral healing, and somatic practices that support the nervous system in completing what survival once interrupted. Alyssa shares how community, ceremony, and earth-honouring rituals helped repair the isolation trauma creates, and how breathwork became a bridge back into safety, agency, and embodiment.She also speaks to the reclamation of anger — not as danger, but as a clean boundary and source of truth — and how this restored confidence, direction, and the ability to build a practice rooted in service rather than performance.Throughout the conversation, Alyssa explores the why beneath each tool: somatics for stress completion, ancestral work for inherited patterns, and breath as a way to soften the mind's grip and return to the body. This episode offers grounded reflections and practical insights for anyone navigating trauma recovery, sobriety, and spiritual growth without bypassing the body.If this resonates, consider subscribing, sharing with someone who may need it, or leaving a review — it helps these conversations reach those they're meant for.What part of this journey speaks to your own?Alyssa's IG: @wildfemininerise Work With Alyssa:Final Shedding : Stepping into the Fire Somatic Breathwork Journey Sedona Retreat 2026

In this fourth episode of Was it just a dream?, we're discussing a dream we received as a response to previous dreams. It again involves cutting. Share your own commentary and read the full dream on our Substack page.Music: It was just a dream by Rafael Krux. Courtesy of the Krux Music Publishing Limited Company. 

Rhythm, ritual and reverie are interconnected. They are interwoven in a way that has invoked an experience of the sacred as long as humans have been around. Rhythm gives birth to cycles of becoming and ending. We can align ourselves to existence by paying attention to life's rhythms, which bring us to feel our connection and place in the weave of everything. In ordinary life, rhythm shows up in our routines. These can become portals, sacred doorways which help us to ground and self-regulate. Having a conscious relationship to fluid and creative routines is different than having a collection of mechanical habits that buffer us from reality. Awareness of our state is healing in itself. Ancient people answered big questions of life through communal ritual. The winter solstice is a threshold moment in the rhythm of the year. In times of craziness that come from woundedness, routine and ritual can make a difference. Little practical things can be anchored and ritualized. Rituals are a way we can invoke divine help. When we ask for help, it's the beginning of laying our burdens down. What burdens do we carry that are not ours to carry? What burdens are we meant to carry? Sometimes we must turn our burdens over to a power that is greater than us. There are three levels of symbols: practical, metaphorical and universal. Sometimes we carry each other when a burden is very great. Through presence we can experience wonder and awe, and court the possibility of reverie. In reverie, we lay our burdens down, open a doorway to revelation, and attune to our deepest Self without effort. Mary Angelon Young is a workshop leader with a background in Jungian psychology, an editor, and author of As It Is, Under the Punnai Tree, The Baul Tradition, Caught in the Beloved's Petticoats, Enlightened Duality (with Lee Lozowick), The Art of Contemplation, and other books. If you are interested in more on this topic by Mary, visit hohmsahajmandir.org and click on the Sahaja blog.

Paranormal experiences happen at the intersection of our human psyches and the unseen world. Andy Mercer, a Jungian psychotherapist shows us how to navigate that intersection when dealing with our Shadow.

This episode features an interview with a psychotherapist based in Ann Arbor Michigan. Her writings are featured in Medium at https://medium.com/@marijogro and Braided Way, Tiferet, Snapdragon, Sojourners, and Embody Kind. Here are some of the references to mentions in the podcast John Matthews on the Grail https://graal.substack.com/p/healing-the-wounded-kingThe Grail Legend (Die Graalslegende), Emma Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz https://www.labyrinthbooks.com/the-grail-legend/ This book provides a deep Jungian analysis of the Percival myth. Rather than a single "title," the book is structured into two primary parts that reflect the individual contributions of the two authors and the psychological evolution of the legend.Creation Centered Spirituality a movement which explores mysticism from a very broad perspective https://www.cscommunities.org/To make a one time donation of any amount to support the podcast, please donate tohttps://www.paypal.com/paypalme/BlackMadonnaHeartBecome a Patron for the channel at https://www.patreon.com/TheBlackMadonnaSpeaksTo purchase Black Madonna Speaks extra content, please visithttps://www.patreon.com/theblackmadonnaspeaks/shop#divinefeminine #sacredfeminine #virginmary #ourlady #blackmadonna #anthroposophy#spiritualjourney #camino #pilgrimage #mothermary #spirituality #Jung #TheHolyGrail #Parsifal

Today Kris suggests that our identity is not something we discover, but is something we are continually choosing. Jungian psychology and Buddhism both provide a framework for thinking about the illusive concept of our 'self'. Beyond all our labels and expectations there is freedom for those who seek it.... freedom to act from a place of reason and compassion.

In this captivating episode, we welcome back Melissa Kim Corter, a depth psychologist and international bestselling author, to explore the intricate world of depth psychology. Melissa shares her profound insights into the shadow aspects of the human psyche, drawing from her extensive background in Jungian archetypical studies. We delve into the transformative power of fairy tales and shadow work, uncovering hidden strengths and achieving greater self-awareness. Melissa's unique approach intertwines psychology with symbolic elements from film, fairy tales, and forensics, offering listeners a rich tapestry of understanding about our unconscious selves. Discover how depth psychology differs from traditional psychotherapy and learn about the concept of wholeness in Jungian theory. Whether you're new to this space or a seasoned explorer of the psyche, this episode promises to enlighten and inspire.Guest: Melissa Kim Corter, depth psychologist and authorMelissa's website: melissacorter.comMelissa's Substack blog: Hauntingly Beautiful ThingsCall to Action: If you find value in this episode, please like, subscribe, and share it with your friends. You can also support the podcast by donating on our website. Truthandshadow.org

Thank you for joining us live for this month's Silk Road Seminar, featuring Kevin Lu and Anderson Todd. Kevin Lu is a Jungian psychoanalyst, lecturer, and scholar whose work bridges analytical psychology, philosophy, and religious studies. As a senior lecturer at the University of Essex, his research explores symbolic thought, depth psychology, myth, and individuation, with a focus on reintegrating Jungian wisdom into contemporary conversations around meaning and transformation. Anderson Todd is an award-winning lecturer at the University of Toronto, teaching in Cognitive Science and Buddhism as well as Psychology and Mental Health. With a background spanning philosophy, complexity science, and transformative practice, Anderson brings clarity and rigor to questions of wisdom cultivation, existential resilience, and mental health. Together, Kevin and Anderson bring a rare synergy of psychological depth and cognitive precision to the Silk Road Seminar, offering insight into meaning-making and transformation in the modern world. Silk Road Seminars are live, hour-long conversations hosted by John Vervaeke, weaving together ideas from cognitive science, philosophy, psychology, and wisdom traditions. Each seminar is streamed live on YouTube and followed by an exclusive Q&A where participants can engage directly with John and the guests.   To be entered onto the guest list for the live Q&A, sign up at the Gamma Tier (or above) on The Lectern: https://lectern.teachable.com/p/lectern-lounge University students (undergraduate through doctoral level) receive free access to the Q&A. Email proof of student status to: ethan@vervaekefoundation.org Students added to the guest list also receive access to previous Silk Road Seminars.     If you'd like to support John's work through a goodwill donation, consider joining the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke John Vervaeke online: https://johnvervaeke.com/ https://twitter.com/drjohnvervaeke https://www.youtube.com/@johnvervaeke https://www.patreon.com/johnvervaeke

In this conversation, host Dori Mintzer welcomes Dr. Connie Zweig back to explore how “shadow work” can become a powerful inner practice in midlife and beyond. They discuss what the “shadow” actually is, how it forms in childhood, and the many ways it shows up in later life through self‑sabotage, repeating relationship patterns, addictions, moods, and projections onto partners, adult children, and political or religious “enemies.”Connie explains her practical method of identifying “shadow characters” using thoughts, feelings, and body sensations as cues, then naming and dialoguing with these inner figures to discover their valid, often hidden needs. Through vivid examples, the “foodie,” the inner critic, and the controller, she shows how greater awareness can transform blame into responsibility, especially in long‑term relationships and marriage. She and Dori also explore “shadow marriage” vows, how couples and families can consciously honor each other's shadow characters, and how elders can use shadow work for reconciliation, forgiveness, and a more peaceful final chapter of life.The discussion widens to the collective shadow, including how projection fuels polarization, dehumanization, and war, and how leaders like Donald Trump have “weaponized” shadow projection on a mass scale. Connie offers a different vision: inner work as a spiritual and social responsibility, combined with daily contemplative practice, so that each of us contributes less to the darkness and more to the light in this “crazy moment” of history.About the Guest – Connie Zweig, PhDConnie Zweig, PhD, is a retired Jungian psychotherapist, author, and teacher known as a pioneering guide to the human shadow across the lifespan. She is co‑author of the classic anthology Meeting the Shadow (new expanded edition) and author of Romancing the Shadow, which presents her method of working with “shadow characters” in individuals, couples, families, and communities.Her award‑winning book The Inner Work of Age: Shifting from Role to Soul extends shadow work into midlife and later life, reframing aging as a spiritual practice that includes life review, reconciliation, and releasing the victim narrative. In Meeting the Shadow on the Spiritual Path: The Dance of Darkness and Light in Our Search for Awakening, she turns to religious and spiritual communities, illuminating how idealization, projection, and abuse of power create “spiritual shadow” and religious trauma, and how disillusioned seekers can reclaim their own light.Key Topics We CoverWhat the “shadow” is and how it forms in childhood.How shadow material erupts as addiction, procrastination, criticism, and repetitive conflicts.Using shadow work in couples, including “shadow marriage” vows and reducing blame in long‑term relationships.Shadow in families, adult‑child relationships, and the life review process in later life.Connect with Connie:Website with events, videos, and resources: ConnieZweig.comPodcast with her husband: Dr. Neil's Spiritual Awakening to Non‑Duality (all major platforms).What to do next: Click to grab our free guide, 10 Key Issues to Consider as You Explore Your Retirement Transition Please leave a review at Apple Podcasts. Join our Revolutionize Your Retirement group on Facebook.

This week is Collette Corcoran who is the visionary founder of The Sacred Rose Temple Mystery School, a global initiatory path devoted to the embodiment of the Feminine Mysteries. An international teacher, Druid Priestess, and Faculty member at The Shift Network, Collette guides women into deep remembrance—where ancient wisdom, somatic embodiment, and modern psychospiritual healing converge.With over 25 years immersed in sacred yogic and mystical traditions, her life's work is devoted to the transmission of Womb Wisdom, Sacred Sexuality, Chakra and Energy Alchemy, Jungian-informed psychospirituality, psychological astrology, Herbalism, Shamanism, Druidism, and Ancestral Medicine. Her teachings are rooted in lived experience and are transmitted through ceremony, body-based practice, and profound psycho-spiritual inquiry.A certified yoga elder and yoga teacher trainer, Collette has curated and led transformational programs that integrate spiritual embodiment with somatic intelligence. Her own path of individuation is deeply informed by Jungian Psychology and the four stages of the Magnum Opus, supported by her Foundation Certification in Jungian Concepts and her work as a Jungian coach.As a practicing Druid Priestess and certified Celebrant, Collette stewards Le Temple de la Rose, her sacred grove in the forests of France, where she facilitates ceremony, pilgrimage, and initiatory work. She is devoted to empowering women and men to reclaim spiritual sovereignty and to reweave their lives in harmony with nature, soul, and the Divine.Through her Mystery School teachings, Collette offers a feminine temple path of study, devotion, and embodied leadership. Her work honors the cyclical intelligence of womanhood, blending ancient rites with contemporary psychospiritual teachings. Her offerings include an extensive library of online courses, a three-year Womb High Priestess Certification, a 13-month Temple Template for year-round devotional practice, Druidess training global retreats, Land training pathways for Women's Circle Leaders, Druidesses, and Sacred Body Prayer Teachers.In this episode we spoke about:Jungian psychology and archetypesDruid wisdom Ancestral work Christian mysticism The archetype of the SnakeThe archetype of the HorseThe fire element Preventing burnout Visit Colette: https://www.templedelarose.com/The program: https://www.templedelarose.com/year-of-the-horse-circle-2026https://www.instagram.com/templedelarose/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbk_RAfWrDb41w8UCTZmDSgVisit Law of Positivism:https://www.instagram.com/lawofpositivism/Website: https://www.lawofpositivism.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawofpositivism/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/lawofpositivismTikTok: www.tiktok.com/@lawofpositivism 

We will explore what happens when we open our mind and heart to Love Itself, without trying to get anything or seek. In the late 1980s, Lieserl, the daughter of the famous genius, donated 1,400 letters, written by Einstein, to the Hebrew University, with orders not to publish their contents until two decades after his death. This is one of them, for Lieserl Einstein.…”When I proposed the theory of relativity, very few understood me, and what I will reveal now to transmit to mankind will also collide with the misunderstanding and prejudice in the world.I ask you to guard the letters as long as necessary, years, decades, until society is advanced enough to accept what I will explain below.There is an extremely powerful force that, so far, science has not found a formal explanation to. It is a force that includes and governs all others, and is even behind any phenomenon operating in the universe and has not yet been identified by us; This universal force is LOVE.When scientists looked for a unified theory of the universe they forgot the most powerful unseen force.Love is Light, that enlightens those who give and receive it.Love is gravity, because it makes some people feel attracted to others.Love is power, because it multiplies the best we have, and allows humanity not to be extinguished in their blind selfishness. Love unfolds and reveals.For love we live and die.Love is God and God is Love.This force explains everything and gives meaning to life. This is the variable that we have ignored for too long, maybe because we are afraid of love because it is the only energy in the universe that man has not learned to drive at will.To give visibility to love, I made a simple substitution in my most famous equation. If instead of E = mc2, we accept that the energy to heal the world can be obtained through love multiplied by the speed of light squared, we arrive at the conclusion that love is the most powerful force there is, because it has no limits.After the failure of humanity in the use and control of the other forces of the universe that have turned against us, it is urgent that we nourish ourselves with another kind of energy…If we want our species to survive, if we are to find meaning in life, if we want to save the world and every sentient being that inhabits it, love is the one and only answer.Perhaps we are not yet ready to make a bomb of love, a device powerful enough to entirely destroy the hate, selfishness and greed that devastate the planet.However, each individual carries within them a small but powerful generator of love whose energy is waiting to be released.When we learn to give and receive this universal energy, dear Lieserl, we will have affirmed that love conquers all, is able to transcend everything and anything, because love is the quintessence of life.I deeply regret not having been able to express what is in my heart, which has quietly beaten for you all my life. Maybe it's too late to apologize, but as time is relative, I need to tell you that I love you and thanks to you I have reached the ultimate answer! “.~Your father Albert EinsteinEileen Murrayhttps://www.facebook.com/eileen.murray.338With a background in Jungian psychology, shamanism and various forms of energy work, Eileen has created a strong bridge between the inner and outer worlds.Enlightened World Network is your guide to inspirational online programs about the spiritual divinity, angels, energy work, chakras, past lives, or soul. Learn about spiritually transformative authors, musicians and healers. Check out our website featuring over 200 spirit-inspired lightworkers specializing in meditation, energy work and angel channelingwww.enlightenedworld.onlineEWN's disclaimer: https://enlightenedworld.online/disclaimer/#Divineguidance #Angelicguidance #God#archangels#Christconsciousness

In this third episode of Was it just a dream?, we are faced with catastrophe, and learn something about the creative response to it.The name “Edward” comes from an Anglo-Saxon name which literally means “guardian or protector of wealth”.Share your own commentary and read the full dream on our Substack page.Music: It was just a dream by Rafael Krux. Courtesy of the Krux Music Publishing Limited Company. 

In this interview, popular Chinese MBTI content creator Joshua Wei shares his journey from identifying as an INFJ to discovering he has ISTP preferences, offering insights into Jungian typology.☆Check out what I'm up to!☆Hi there! I'm Joyce, a certified MBTI® Master Practitioner, Enneagram Coach, Jungian Typology Expert, Master NLP Practitioner, and Gallup® CliftonStrengths Coach.WONDERING WHICH ONE OF THE 16 PERSONALITY TYPES YOU ARE?Book a session to get my take on your type. I'd love to help guide you on your type-discovery journey!Here is my scheduling link to arrange a time with me:https://calendly.com/joycemengcoachingI charge $85 for a typing session. Another colleague of mine certified by Personality Hacker will work alongside me and we will give you our independent assessments of you.Want to go deeper? For $97, you can purchase a typing session with 1 hour of additional coaching with me.Or maybe you know your personality type already and are seeking some type-based coaching? As a trained coach, I can help you apply type concepts to all areas of your life for lasting change. The coaching session rate is $75 per hour for a bundle of 3. :)By purchasing a session, you will help support the Type Talks channel and gain personalized mentorship and guidance from an experienced industry expert with over 12 years of experience.If you'd like to get in touch, you can email me at joycemeng22@gmail.comFor those of you who are interested, I am also launching a website and releasing a typology book next year! Here's a link to my coaching website if you'd like to learn more about me and the services I offer: https://www.joycemengcoaching.com/Connect with me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoyceMeng22Like the show? Buy me a coffee! (it means the world to me): https://ko-fi.com/joycemengShow your support by becoming a monthly patron! https://ko-fi.com/joycemeng/tiersWant to know when the next Type Talks video is premiering? Join our Discord community for the latest updates! (Inactive now, looking for moderators) https://discord.gg/ksHb7fmMcm☆Check out Joshua Wei!☆https://b23.tv/uQulsRZ#ISTP #infj #16Types #16personalities #MBTI #carljung

Dr Stefano Carpani is an Italian Jungian psychoanalyst, lecturer at the C.G. Jung Institute Zürich, and scientific consultant at Pacifica Graduate Institute. At 46, he has emerged as a leading voice amongst a new generation of Jungian thinkers, bridging depth psychology with sociology, critical theory, and contemporary political questions. In this conversation, Stefano and I explore the landscape of contemporary Jungian thought, beginning with his distinction between Jungian, post-Jungian, and neo-Jungian approaches—where neo-Jungians like himself aim to make analytical psychology relevant to 21st-century crises beyond the consulting room. We discuss his I+I theory, which synthesises Jung's individuation with sociologist Ulrich Beck's individualization, arguing that contemporary identity formation requires both psychological and sociological lenses to understand. Stefano shares insights from his award-winning work on the fall of the Berlin Wall, explaining how the numinous—an autonomous psychic force Jung described—operates in collective historical transformation, suggesting that major shifts require not just political will but adequate psychic conditions and "the attraction of the symbol." We explore the concept of enantiodromia, Jung's idea that psychological and cultural movements tend to revert to their opposites when pushed too far, applying this to contemporary political polarisation and populism. Throughout, Stefano makes a compelling case for why Jungian analysts must engage courageously with war, democracy, and social transformation, bringing depth psychology out of the clinic and into public discourse.

Dr. Shahrzad Jalali is a licensed clinical psychologist, executive coach, and trauma specialist whose work bridges neuroscience, somatic psychology, and mindfulness. She is the author of The Fire That Makes Us (Greenleaf Book Group, Sept 2025), which reframes emotional pain as fuel for transformation, and the creator of Regulate to Rise™, an eight-module program for emotional regulation and resilience. As founder of Align Remedy and Dr. Jalali & Associates, she and her team help clients move beyond coping toward meaningful change using EMDR, somatic experiencing, brainspotting, and Jungian dream work. With a multicultural lens and a rare gift for making mental health deeply human, Dr. Jalali guides high-achievers, women in transition, and trauma survivors from survival to expansion.In This EpisodeShahrzad's websiteShahrzad's book: The Fire That Makes Us LinkedinInstagramTikTokBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-trauma-therapist--5739761/support.You can learn more about what I do here:The Trauma Therapist Newsletter: celebrates the people and voices in the mental health profession. And it's free! Check it out here: https://bit.ly/4jGBeSa———If you'd like to support The Trauma Therapist Podcast and the work I do you can do that here with a monthly donation of $5, $7, or $10: Donate to The Trauma Therapist Podcast.Click here to join my email list and receive podcast updates and other news.Thank you to our Sponsors:Jane App - use code GUY1MO at https://jane.appArizona Trauma Institute at https://aztrauma.org/

Zürich-trained Jungian psychoanalyst Fiann Paul returns to Speaking of Jung to discuss the founding of the International Jungian Psychedelic Association. We explore the relationship between depth psychology and psychedelic experiences, as well as the challenges and opportunities emerging in the rapidly developing field of psychedelic-assisted therapies.

Disclaimer: We are not professionals. This podcast is opinioned based and from life experience. This is for entertainment purposes only. Opinions helped by our guests may not reflect our own. But we love a good conversation.In this 2 Be Better Podcast deep dive, Chris and Peaches break down shadow work in plain English and show you how to use it without burning your life down. You will learn what the “shadow” actually is, why it is not evil, and how it shows up as overreactions, people pleasing, perfectionism, jealousy, shutdown, and that harsh inner critic that never shuts up. They walk you through the three layer model of trigger, meaning, and action urge, how your nervous system sets the ceiling for your insight, and why naming your parts, your stories, and your body sensations gives you your power back. You will also hear how shadow work ties directly into intimacy, why unspoken wounds get blamed on your partner, and how to start telling the truth about your reactions without turning it into self attack or character assassination. From there, they move into ten step by step shadow work exercises you can do alone or as a couple, including “the story I tell myself,” family echoes from your childhood home, trigger maps and care plans, resentment to request, ritual release, values to behaviors, and future memory scenes that help you manifest different outcomes instead of repeating the same fight in new outfits. You will get concrete scripts for naming your parts, asking for space without stonewalling, coming back with one clear request, using check ins, repair rehearsal, and parts dialogue so you can stop living in survival mode and start living as your real self. If you are looking for shadow work for couples, nervous system regulation, marriage communication tools, Jungian shadow work, or practical spiritual growth that you can use in real relationships, this episode gives you a full framework plus a free downloadable PDF of the exercises on the 2BeBetter.com resources tab so you can follow along and actually do the workBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/2-be-better--5828421/support.

Explore Your Personality: https://PersonalityHacker.com    Joel and Antonia challenge the common myths around introversion and extraversion, showing it's not just about being social or reserved. They explore how each extraverted function creates "rapport" with different aspects of life (people, ideas, environments, and projects) and why this helps explain the ambivert experience. Drawing from Jungian theory, they offer a deeper, more accurate lens on how we engage with the world.

This week we're introducing you to Pulling the Thread, hosted by writer Elise Loehnen, who explores life's big questions with today's leading thinking, experts and luminaries: Why do we do what we do? How can we understand and love ourselves better? What would it look like to come together and build a more meaningful world? In today's episode we're joined by James Hollis, PhD is a Jungian analyst who is still in private practice in Washington D.C. Hollis started his career as a professor of humanities before a midlife crisis brought him to his knees—and to the Jung Institute in Zurich. The author of 19 books, Hollis is one of the best interpreters of Carl Jung’s work, making it accessible for all of us who want to understand how complexes, archetypes, synchronicities, and the shadow drive our lives. To hear more episode of Pulling the Thread, follow wherever you get your podcasts or head to: https://lemonada.lnk.to/PullingTheThreadfd MORE FROM JAMES HOLLIS, PhD: Why Good People Do Bad Things: Understanding Our Darker Selves Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life: How to Finally, Really Grow Up A Life of Meaning: Relocating Your Center of Spiritual Gravity The Broken Mirror: Refracted Visions of Ourselves James Hollis’s Website RELATED EPISODES: Connie Zweig, “Embracing the Shadow” Satya Doyle Byock, “Navigating Quarterlife” Terry Real, “Healing Male Depression” Niobe Way, PhD, “The Critical Need for Deep Connection” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.