Spending my Sunday morning in the company of James Hollis — ON HEARING (AND ANSWERING) THE CALL TO CREATE

According to Hollis:

So much of the self-help genre prattles on about “happiness.” “Thirty Days to this or That…”. “Five Easy Steps to…”. You fill in the blanks. But this Pablum does not feed the soul, fire the spirit, create the new world. The pursuit of “happiness” is delusory. It is a by-product of those rare moments of détente, of concordance between our external choices and our internal reality. In the essay Psychotherapy and a Philosophy of Life Jung says: “the principle aim of psychotherapy is not to transport the patient to an impossible state of happiness but to help him acquire steadfastness and philosophic patience in the face of suffering. Life demands for its completion and fulfillment a balance between joy and sorrow.” 

James Hollis, Ph.D., is a world renowned Jungian Analyst in private practice in Washington, D. C. He is also Executive Director of the Jung Society of Washington. He is the author of 15 books on forging a more meaningful life. James Hollis was the Director of the Houston Jung Institute and Director of Doctoral Program with Saybrook University.