This Jungian Life Podcast

Can mythology really save our kids?

06 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Can myth-based storytelling transform urban youth?Kwame Scruggs joins us to discuss how mythology can save our kids. He discovered urban youth develop...

Psychodermatology: How Skin Communicates Unconscious Conflicts

30 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How do skin conditions give voice to silent suffering in our souls?Our skin serves as a canvas for our emotional and psychological states, manifesting...

IDENTITY CRISIS: When Our Story Falls Apart

23 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How can understanding and reshaping our personal narratives help us navigate and overcome identity crises during major life transitions?A Narrative Id...

Can We Transform Fear into Joy? - learn the secret in the Six Swans fairytale

16 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How can we harness inner strength and resilience to transform personal fears and adversities into growth and joy?In our "Six Swans Jungian Analys...

Encounters with Light: Jung's near-death experiences

02 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How can near-death experiences challenge and expand our understanding of consciousness and its connection to the transcendent?Carl Jung's near-dea...

MARTYR COMPLEX: Selfish or Selfless?

25 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How can understanding different aspects of martyrdom help us navigate personal sacrifices and societal expectations in our search for a meaningful li...

ECLIPSE: archetype of awe, wonder, and triumph

18 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Encountering a total eclipse can evoke a primal connection to nature and the infinite, constellating a deep sense of belonging to the universe and eac...

What if we could force people to dream about us?

11 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How do dreams intrude upon our Psyche, our roles in others' lives, and our societal identities?Actress Kate Berlant gives us an inside view on the...

Why We Make Others Feel Bad: understanding projective identification

04 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How do we invisibly transfer our emotions to others, and what magic lies in revealing this unseen dance?Projective identification is like unconsciousl...

Everyday Animism: Did Jung speak to his pots and pans?

01 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How do our interactions with the seemingly mundane objects around us reflect and influence our deeper psychological processes and connections with the...

VULGARITY: What's Its True Power?

28 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How does the interplay between vulgarity and societal norms reflect and shape the human experience of freedom, creativity, and psychological depth? O...

WAS JUNG ANTISEMETIC?

21 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How do we interpret and evaluate C.G. Jung's complex legacy in light of his interactions with Jewish individuals and the allegations of antisemiti...

IS IT BETTER TO BE or FLEE THE BIG BAD WOLF?

14 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Can we grow by facing and integrating our ferocious instincts?The Three Little Pigs isn't just a children's tale; it's a sharp commentary ...

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF STRIFE: What Lies Beneath Our Conflicts?

07 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How does resolving inner conflicts enhance external relations?Conflict, both inner and outer, is a fundamental part of the human experience. We engag...

Did Jung understand gay identity?

29 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Can Jungian psychology shed light on the archetypal forces shaping gay identity?" Our guest, Robert Hopcke, examines how Jung and Jungians have ...

THE VITAL SPARK: Reclaim Your Outlaw Energies and Find Your Feminine Fire.

22 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

 Deep in each of us, a Vital Spark fights to free us and set us back on the path.  Lisa, Joe, and Deb were joined by more than 300 audience members ...

UNREQUITED LOVE: Can Eros be revived?

15 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When we offer our heart and it is refused, even the gods become angry. One day long, long ago, Aphrodite was a new mother. Her son, Eros, was the liv...

THE LAST AWAKENING: Death Anxiety and Its Role in Psychological Transformation

08 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How do the varied human experiences, beliefs, and practices related to death and dying illuminate our understanding of life's meaning and help us ...

SPEAKING TRUTH: Is it Venom or a Cure?

01 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How do we navigate the complex interplay between personal truths, societal norms, and psychological well-being to foster individual growth and societa...

Promethean Inflation: Will our creations destroy us?

25 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Are we inadvertently summoning forces beyond our control in our relentless pursuit of innovation and progress? Can we harness the power of our creati...

ARE DREAMS THE TRUE SOURCE OF SPIRITUALITY?

18 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How do dreams influence and reflect our spiritual beliefs and experiences across different cultures and historical periods, and what does scientific r...

DIVORCE: How can heartbreak lead to transformation?

11 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How does the experience of divorce lead to personal transformation and self-discovery?The journey of divorce is emblematic of a profound personal tran...

Three Jungians on Psychedelics: Is Tripping a Valid Path of Self-Discovery?

04 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

How can combining psychedelics and Jungian psychology enhance our understanding of psyche?Psychedelics may help us access deep layers of the unconscio...

CAN DREAMS CONNECT US TO THE ANCESTORS?

28 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jung's concept of the collective unconscious emphasized the universal psychological substrate common to all humans. While he acknowledged the effe...

SOLSTICE: Why is the longest night so magickal?

21 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year, calls us to brood and turn within. Retreating to the unconscious is a psychic wintering, calling our l...

Yascha Mounk: Why Society Crumbles When We Obsess Over Identity

14 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Yascha Mounk is a political scientist and author focused on the challenges facing liberal democracies and the rise of populism. As a Johns Hopkins Uni...

SURVIVING MASS TRAUMA: How did Jung process catastrophic events?

07 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The great catastrophe of Jung's generation was the rise of Nazi Germany and WWII. His insights into the collective psyche of nations remain releva...

NIGHTMARES: How do I stop awful dreams?

30 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

"The monsters that chase you in dreams are not trying to hurt you. They just want to reunite with their creator………...… that's you, du...

DO WE INHERIT OUR PARENT’S FEARS?

23 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What wisdom do fairy tales hold about childrearing in our modern world? Briar Rose is the foundation for the familiar fairytale Sleeping Beauty. It a...

DUMBO'S FEATHER: Are there hidden messages in Disney cartoons?

16 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What hidden messages make Disney cartoons so impactful and enduring?Disney cartoons were groundbreaking. They introduced synchronized soundtracks in 1...

Aaron Balick – Why does social media weaponize our reactions?

09 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Aaron Balick is a psychotherapist, speaker, consultant, educator, and author of The Psychodynamics of Social Networking.Social media invites snap emot...

FAME: Why Do We Create Icons Then Destroy Them?

02 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today's technology allows us to be seduced by the possibility of fame and celebrity tempting the ego to claim what does not belong to it. In ear...

JUNG'S PARANORMAL ENCOUNTERS: Why did strange events follow him?

26 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

If we lean into strange experiences with gentle curiosity, we may discover a level of psyche that acts directly on objects.Many of us have uncanny coi...

LOW ENERGY: Where can we source the drive to take action?

19 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Lisa, Deb, and Joe, Jungian analysts and co-creators of This Jungian Life podcast, have introduced thousands of clients to an inner world with unexpec...

REUNIONS: Is there value in remembering our younger selves?

12 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Deb and Joe are Jungian Analysts, authors, training analysts, and co-creators of This Jungian Life Podcast. [Lisa was away lecturing this week.]Most o...

Donald Kalsched – Can running our minds like a democracy save us?

05 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Don Kalsched is a Jungian Analyst, an expert on treating trauma, author of two books, The Inner World of Trauma and Trauma and the Soul.Jung discovere...

Why Do We Push People Away? Understanding our Defenses

28 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Defense mechanisms function as unconscious psychological strategies we deploy to navigate reality and sustain a consistent self-image. They act as a s...

SELKIE FOLKLORE: Should we force soul to serve us?

21 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Selkie swims ashore at night, sheds her seal skin, hides it, and delights in her human form. In Celtic lore, she is the wild feminine soul, a cre...

INITIATIONS: universal processes that spark transformation

14 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The archetype of Initiation is primordial, and its force guides our transformative transitions. For Jung, this change reshapes spiritual, emotional, i...

The Barbie Movie: Can it Dismantle an American Myth?

07 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

[Spoiler Alert.] In the opening scene of the Barbie movie, listless little girls dressed as drab Dust Bowl mothers play at ironing as they tend plasti...

From SHAMANISM to JUNG: Understanding 'Loss of Soul'

31 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As Jung’s anthropological studies expanded and his international travel exposed him to new cultures and ideas, he was taken by the concept of ‘los...

HAGITUDE: Sharon Blackie on the power of aging

24 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sharon Blackie calls us to the ancient archetype of the Hag as a figure of unapologetic emergence from cultural pressures that lock us into outworn ro...

THREE VOICES, ONE SONG: Lessons in Friendship

17 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The essence of friendship is visible in its linguistic root: ‘to love.’ Cicero wrote, “Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the ...

You're Not A Fraud: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

10 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Imposter syndrome constellates the gut-wrenching fear of being exposed as a fraud no matter how much we have learned or the successes we have demonstr...

FRIEND or FOE: The AI Debate with Michael L. Littman, PhD

03 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The uses and abuses of ChatGPT artificial intelligence language model have taken the collective imagination by storm. Apocalyptic predictions of the ...

Meeting Shadow on the Spiritual Path with Connie Zweig

20 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Award-winning author, depth psychotherapist, and guide Connie Zweig shows us encountering darkness is a necessary part of our spiritual journey. In th...

REVIVING TOLERANCE in Cancel Culture

13 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In a world reduced to digital exchanges and swift judgments, reviving tolerance has become vital. Toleration comes from the ancient Proto-Indo-Europea...

HEALING the RIFT: Anima Mundi in a Disenchanted World

06 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Is every object alive? Are wind, oceans, and mountains sentient? Jung, inspired by Anima Mundi or world soul, believed so. This concept, rooted in anc...

Hypochondria’s Havoc and the Quest for Reassurance

29 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Illness anxiety disorder (IAD), formerly hypochondriasis, is characterized by excessive worry about a severe illness, persisting despite medical evalu...

OUR MORAL COMPASS: Understanding Guilt, Remorse, & Atonement

22 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A sudden pang in the chest, a quiet voice persistently whispering at the back of our mind, we experience guilt when our actions, or deliberate lack t...

BEAUTY, her BEAST, and the BLOSSOMING SELF

15 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The tale of Beauty and the Beast is at least 4,000 years old, perhaps second in popularity only to Cinderella. It has generated many print versions, a...

EMBRACING THE OUTCAST: Understanding Homelessness

08 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Homelessness, as a stark and multifaceted symbol of disconnection, extends beyond the mere absence of physical shelter, embodying a complex interlacin...

UGLY DUCKLING COMPLEX: the painful path of transformation

01 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We all understand the Ugly Duckling complex because we lived it at one time or another. Hans Christian Anderson’s famous tale paints a poignant pict...

SHADOWS & HIGH STAKES: understanding gambling

25 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Understanding gambling illuminates the amalgam of desire, risk, and reward that defines our interactions with a capricious world. The lure of gambling...

WHISKERS of WISDOM: A Jungian Analysis of ‘Puss in Boots’

18 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Something about a cat wearing clothes has captured our imagination for over 500 years, so it’s about time we tackle a Jungian analysis of Puss in Bo...

ARCHETYPAL IMAGES: the soul's language

11 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Thomas Singer, M.D., Jungian Analyst and president of The Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism joins us to decipher Archetypal Images and exp...

MEDUSA’S MANY FACES: The Evolution of a Myth

04 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The symbolism of Medusa, one of three Gorgon sisters in Greek mythology, has fascinated artists, writers, and philosophers for centuries. Initially a ...

The DARK TRIAD: tracking wolves in our midst

27 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Understanding the Dark Triad can help us navigate mysteriously troubled relationships in all spheres of life. Psychologists coined the term to describ...

SYMBOLIC MEANING of HAIR: what's your look saying?

20 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The symbolic meaning of hair is both personal and cultural. It serves as an expressive medium through which we silently communicate. Sporting bed-head...

THE WHALE: a film about trauma, obesity, and the undying hope to connect.

13 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We are born with a drive to connect meaningfully with our caregivers. When that is thwarted by fate, deprivation, or hostility, our psyche rallies, i...

PAN: archetypal source of panic disorder

06 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Piping through mountains and glens, the great god Pan carries the relentless procreative power of nature. He symbolizes the archaic level of psyche fr...

CAN JUNG’S HOME WITHSTAND REPURPOSING?

01 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It seems that an intrepid consortium of impact investors, real estate developers, and the Swiss Tourism, Farming, and Dairy Products Oversight Authori...

SCHADENFREUDE: Why do we enjoy seeing others fail?

23 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Schadenfreude, the joy in someone else’s misfortune, is a common human experience. We often feel it when someone we believe deserves it embarrasses ...

The PIED PIPER & the terrible costs of rejecting shadow

16 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Pied Piper story holds a dark secret that has repelled and fascinated us for over 500 years. It asks, "What does it cost to banish our shadow...

The ORPHAN: symbol of eros, pathos, and hope

09 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The archetype of the orphan, closely related to the hero, evokes powerful feelings of abandonment, deprivation, and hope. From Harry Potter to Little ...

PASSING THE TEST: embracing the refiner’s fire

02 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The word test originally referred to an earthenware vessel in which metals were smelted to separate ore from dross. Like ancient vessels holding the h...

AWAKE TO THE WORLD: Jung’s Ethical Stance

23 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Despite volumes written on morality and ethics, how do we determine what’s right? Values distilled over time by family, faith, and nation define and...

IRRESISTIBLE INVITATIONS: the powerful seduction of possibilities

16 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Invitations are a subtle siren song, tapping into our primal human need to be chosen combined with our thirst for novelty, making them an irresistible...

APHRODITE’S SHADOW: Drowning in Beauty

09 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When the goddess Aphrodite claims us too fully, over time, our bodies become abandoned temples of physical perfection, sexual allure, and romantic pas...

Sacred Marriage: A Fusion of Instinct, Spirit, and Grit

02 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Marriage is a mystery woven into the fabric of time. A 4,000-year-old contract etched in stone bears witness to its timeless significance. But what is...

The Schizophrenia Complex: How Do We Love Those in Chaos?

26 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Guest Eve Maram, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist and Jungian analyst in Orange, CA. Her book, The Schizophrenia Complex, presents a clear-eyed and co...

Bipolar Disorder: A Jungian Perspective

19 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Imprisoned by the sea with his son Icarus, mythological craftsman Daedalus constructed wings to escape. Beeswax held feathers in place, so Daedalus to...

Inside the Mind of the Scam Artist

12 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Conned, swindled, or bilked, about 50 million Americans were ripped off by scammers in 2020. What deadens a person to preying on another? Tricksters c...

Best of This Jungian Life 2022

05 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

New Year is a global time of celebration and self-reflection. We let go of what’s worn out and cheer on what’s new and emergent. Here at TJL, we r...

SEX and its Undeniable Power to Fascinate

29 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Sex fascinates us. Whether we turn toward it, flushed and excited or away from it, tense and disquieted. Archetypal images of sex adorn the thresholds...

HOLIDAY HAUNTINGS, or Who are these people?!?!

22 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Holiday homecomings kindle hopes of achieving a domestic ideal, though family gatherings are also likely to evoke old roles and emotions. Families ope...

THERAPISTS on the SILVER SCREEN: fantasy or fact?

15 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In psychoanalysis, a screen memory covers up a deeper, more emotionally charged issue. Similarly, movie and television screens both shield and open us...

REVOLUTION: the way of radical renewal

08 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We tend to think of revolution as a people’s push-back against perceived oppression—a reaction to rulership that has rejected fairness, change, an...

MELANCHOLY: the exquisite ache of life

01 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Melancholy evokes images of poets and artists for whom suffering and giftedness go hand in hand. Creative ability as compensation for affliction is de...

GAMES: a metaphor for life

24 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Humans have played games since prehistoric times. Games bring us together and pit us against each other. We agree to rules, take turns, develop tolera...

STAY-AT-HOME DADS: Emerging Potentials in the Father Archetype

17 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As our bonds to historic roles loosen, fathers are finding new ways to express themselves within the family dynamic. In 2014 Pew Research Center ident...

SEWING: Stitching a Life Together

10 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Humans moved from stitching animal hides to sewing cloth, from necessity to fashion, and from handwork to factory. To sew is to repair, alter, and cre...

Matthew Quick on Jung, heartbreak, and healing in his new novel We Are the Light.

03 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Matthew Quick, author of The Silver Linings Playbook, shares himself and his new book, We Are the Light. Writer’s block led Quick to ThisJungian Lif...

Zombies: a call to consciousness

27 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Zombies have recently risen from mythological depths to menace modern-day culture. Zombies image the horror of vulnerability to dehumanized existence....

The Problem with Problems: solve or avoid?

20 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Problems can pester, persist and plague. They range from short-lived to chronic, bothersome to heart-wrenching, resolvable to unalterable. Problems ca...

OCD: The Distress of Repression

13 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Obsessions are unwanted, intrusive thoughts; compulsions are unwarranted, involuntary behaviors. Though different, they often go together, for compuls...

The Inferior Function: Opening to the Interior

29 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

There is a crack in everything / That’s how the light gets in. LEONARD COHENJung’s system of typology—our characteristic way of orienting to the...

Theory of Enchantment: Chloe Valdary

22 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Could the antidote to racism be enchantment? Chloe Valdary thinks so. Theory of Enchantment is a radical approach to anti-racism rooted in understandi...

THE QUEEN: Archetype & Individual

15 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Queen Elizabeth II is mourned around the world. The world saw stages of life live in and through her: from maiden to mate, mother to matriarch, elder ...

ROAD TRIP: outer journey, inner mission

08 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The open road beckons: bigger, better, boundless. To see and to seek is a mythological theme with an American stamp, from wagon trains to memoirs and ...

HATRED: a way to hide our secrets

01 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Hatred is a universal human emotion related to distancing and destroying. Hatred is anger, disgust, judgment, and contempt cemented into implacable pe...

Donald Kalsched: Trauma & the Informed Heart

25 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Donald Kalsched, Jungian analyst, teacher, and author, discusses his acclaimed work on childhood trauma; (see www.donaldkalsched.com for upcoming ...

COMPARTMENTALIZATION: Coping with Contradiction

18 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Compartmentalization is like a home electrical panel that separates power into different zones. It allows us to separate the charge carried by ideas, ...

HERMES: Divine Trickster

11 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Karl Kerenyi collaborated with Jung in demonstrating the psychological meaning of Greek mythology. Kerenyi found in Hermes a representation of “a th...

Archetype of the Wave: image of energy and motion

04 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Images of earth’s perpetual restlessness waves gently rock us, lift us up for an exhilarating ride – or inundate us in the terrifying phenomenon o...

The Way of Kabbalah: ancient map of the psyche

28 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kabbalah is an ancient Jewish mystical tradition that has captured the imaginations of people from widely diverse backgrounds, including Jung himself....

Imp of the Perverse: struggling with our fiendish shadow

21 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

A fiendish inner spirit can prompt behavior that defies self-interest and even common sense. In Edgar Allan Poe’s story, the protagonist acts on his...

Hansel and Gretel: Overcoming Trauma

14 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Fairy tales are fierce narratives of human shadow and its transformation. Hansel and Gretel depicts raw childhood trauma: parents abandon their childr...

DAIMON: Demon or Destiny?

07 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The daimon, a guiding spirit of individual destiny, was discussed by ancient Greek philosophers and still surfaces in books and movies like The Golden...

Can We Consider Abortion?

30 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The word consider derives from Latin considerare, “to look at closely, observe.” Con means “with, together,” and sidus refers to “heavenly b...