Overture: Night
This article is excerpted from Stephen Jenkison’s book Die Wise: A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul. We wanted to share this with you as it is a theme of great…
A Small Adventure
What a fine day, I thought, for a walk in the hills. The sky is pleasantly warm and clear. The breeze drifting through the trees makes the world seem fresh…
A Jungian Approach to Anxiety and Depression
A Jungian approach to anxiety and depression differs from conventional methods in that conventional therapy treats anxiety and depression as though they are the problems in and of themselves. From…
The Deep Ground: Towards an Embodied Spirituality
When I write about the ground I am referring to the felt-sense of support and stability that lies beneath the body. Our deepest ground is underground. There are different levels to this sense of being grounded. On one level – the most obvious one – we feel rooted in and connected to the earth. Another level, less frequented, is archetypal. Here we may be pulled down into an underground realm on a mythic journey.
The Sun, the Moon and Who You Are
In astrology the Sun and the Moon are considered the most personal planets. How do I shine in the world? How do I dare to feel and show my power? These are the themes of the Sun in astrology. How can I feel safe in the world? How can I nourish myself and connect to other people? Life themes like these are reflected in the Moon.
Introduction to Jungian Psychology
Carl Jung said that it is up to us to live our life in line with our true essence, our unique core that continues to unfold as we age. This essence is often experienced as if it is guiding us through life and is aiming at full expression. At times, it can even feel as if we are being used by something larger that wants to engage with the world through our own body and movements. Jung called this process of personal development and unfolding the individuation process.
The Wisdom of The Enneagram
The Enneagram is a dynamic human development system, perhaps the oldest in history, believed to date back to the late 4th century. As the Enneagram suggests, our personality-driven patterns and habits prevent us from contacting a deeper experience of ourselves and others. In developing greater awareness of these patterns, and through the conscious and consistent practice of relaxing our inner resistance, we learn to cultivate a deeper quality of presence.
Exploring the Hidden Stories Within
Humans are storying beings. We think in story, communicate in story, and dream in story. It is one of the primary ways humans communicate, as well as a way to help understand and situate ourselves in the world. It gives us a grasp on the symbols and archetypes in our dreams, and fuels our mythologies. How do we find the hidden stories that lie just under the surface of our consciousness, in the shadows?
Coming Home to Our True Nature
The wisdom inherent in our true nature can be found throughout our lived world. For instance, in heliotropic plants that innately turn to the sun for nourishment. However, while humans do have an innate hard-wired capacity to see into the deeper nature of life, we have to choose the spiritual function for it to have its beneficial effects. We have to nurture the wisdom of our nature.
Leaping With the Fool Archetype
One of the most important tasks of the Fool is to learn to leap. When we look at a tarot deck, we see the Fool standing on the edge of a cliff, ready to leap. Leaping is no small feat. But without learning to leap we become fearful. We stay stuck in situations that we outgrow, stay with people that limit us, and environments that no longer inspire us. Leaping means we stay alive and awake in the journey of becoming.’
Dante’s Divine Comedy
Imagine the poem as a vessel containing the prima materia of soul life. Dante’s poem is an opportunity to allow a deepening into our own story, our own narrative, by the imaginal power of analogy. One writer I read years ago spoke of poetry allowing us to enter our own “spiritual unconscious,” with whatever poem we are reading as our guide.
Sufism and the Way of Blame
The Sufis would actively create circumstances in which they were blamed for not acting piously or ethically. The object was to shatter the false image that they or the society had created for them. In this way a master would show disciples that they had been more devoted to an idol or image they had created in their minds, than to the actual spiritual guide.
