I have been reading quite a lot of Jungian psychology and philosophy over the past few years. Here are some notes from Jason E. Smith’s new book: Religious but not Religious. Living a Symbolic Life (2020) On mastery versus meaning Meaning is a psychological state that can affirm life. Mastery, by contrast, is not affirmation,…
Tag: psychology
An aesthetics of one’s own
The small things in everyday life are no less sacred than the great issues of human existence. Fifth post on CARE OF THE SOUL: I am a maker. I have been a maker for as long as I can remember. Making (in the form of writing, drawing, painting, knitting, cooking, gardening, blogging …) still gives…
Going deeper
FOURTH POST ON THOMAS MOORE’S CARE OF THE SOUL: Jung equates the unconscious with the soul, and so when we try to live fully consciously in an intellectually predictable world, protected from all mysteries and comfortable with conformity, we lose our everyday opportunities for the soulful life. The intellect wants to know; the soul likes…
Growing older
I have been reading the Jungian analyst James Hollis on and off for a year now, and he’s still my favourite thinker/writer when it comes to reflecting upon growing older, or more specific, what he calls; the second half of life. The first decades of our life are mostly spent in making adaptations to the world and…
up for a challenge?
Try stumbeling across the umbilical cord with Deborah Levy
Day dreaming good for you?
Reflection is critical for development and well-being. Mindful reflection is not just important in an academic context — it’s also essential to our ability to make meaning of the world around us. Inward attention is an important contributor to the development of moral thinking and reasoning and is linked with overall socioemotional well-being.
cainology*
Introversion is different from shyness. Shyness is the fear of negative judgment, while introversion is simply the preference for less stimulation. In our society, the ideal self is bold, gregarious, and comfortable in the spotlight. We like to think that we value individuality, but mostly we admire the type of individual who’s comfortable “putting himself…
sub rosa 