C.G. Jung's The Red Book
Between the years 1913 to 1919, Swiss psychiatrist C.G. Jung experienced a continual stream of visions from the depths of his psyche, or soul. This myriad of visitors took the form of mythic figures from the world's religious and literary traditions - visitors that Jung experienced not as fabrications of his own unconscious, but as entirely - and personally - "real." These adventures and encounters that he experienced alongside his journey with Soul eventually came to form the basic postulates and premises of Jungian or analytical psychology, and constituted the basis of his theories of individuation, the collective unconscious, psychological typology, the mediating role of the ego in the economy of the psyche, the conflict and resolution of psychic polarities, the anima/animus, and the appearance, death, and rebirth of personal and collective god-images.
Through his Red Book, Jung offers a personalized religious and spiritual path for modern seekers that might be disenchanted with traditional forms of religion, and yet still engaged in a passionate search for deeper meaning and personal call. Through lectures, experiential workshops, and guided reflections, I offer individuals and groups an approach to Soul inspired by the wisdom and healing of Jung's own journey to Self as documented in his Red Book.
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A hooded ferry man pilots stormy waters with precious cargo - the seed of the Self. The boat can be interpreted as the ego, our "body" for navigating the waters of life. Under the current lies an ancient sea monster, representing shadow material, or otherwise unconscious contents. Not yet integrated, this material lies in hiding below, waiting to potentially unhinge the boatman's direction and intent.
At a certain point in most epic tales and legends, a hero comes into combat with a dragon or monster, representing threatening aspects of the unconscious. This image depicts Jung's own slaying of a multi-armed creature and the subsequent psychic renewal he experiences through its life-enhancing blood.
For Jung, the task of integration is to unite the "opposites" - in this image, heaven and earth, or, in alchemical terms, above and below. Here Jung is found in the middle, with the human body as conduit of both earthly and divine channels, and the task of continuing the incarnation squarely on his shoulders.
A hooded ferry man pilots stormy waters with precious cargo - the seed of the Self. The boat can be interpreted as the ego, our "body" for navigating the waters of life. Under the current lies an ancient sea monster, representing shadow material, or otherwise unconscious contents. Not yet integrated, this material lies in hiding below, waiting to potentially unhinge the boatman's direction and intent.