If we’re completely honest, there’s a dark delight in seeing someone embarrass themselves, especially if we think they deserve it. So when our irritating boss stomps by our cubicle trailing a few feet of toilet paper from his shoe or a controversial politician is caught in a sexual picadillo, we’re likely to stifle a laugh or at least enjoy a self-satisfied sigh. We can define schadenfreude as joy in someone’s shame or misfortune.
Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “Humor is just schadenfreudewith a clear consci...
2023-03-23 13:47:43 +0000 UTC
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LISTEN: https://thisjungianlife.com/pied-piper/
The Pied Piper story holds a dark secret that has repelled and fascinated us for over 500 years.
At its surface, it looks like a simple morality tale cautioning us to be prudent and fair. Rats overrun a town, and the locals are beside themselves. A magical piper vibrantly dressed offers a solution too good to be true. His pipe weaves a tune that leads rats to their doom – and they drow...
2023-03-16 12:12:24 +0000 UTC
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Hey Patrons,
This week we’re interpreting a dream submitted by a $10-a-month patron. We hope you’ll find this vitalizing and informative.
HERE'S THE DREAM: “I’m in some kind of park setting with my mom and sister. There is a kind of kitten transportation system above using baskets and wires strung between trees. I’m delighted by watching the kittens move from tree to tree in their baskets. Suddenly the sky darkens, and an ominous feeling comes over everything. I take some of the kittens and run for ...
2023-03-09 15:00:04 +0000 UTC
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LISTEN: https://thisjungianlife.com/issues-of-abandonment/
The archetype of the orphan, closely related to the hero, evokes powerful issues of abandonment, deprivation, and hope. From Harry Potter to Little Orphan Annie from Daenerys Targaryen to Cinderella, orphans who triumph over adversity remind us that healing the inner child is possible.
The factual history of orphans is frequently heartbreaking. In the ancient world,...
2023-03-09 14:00:04 +0000 UTC
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Hey Patrons,
Today we’re answering a question submitted by a supporter.
“There are so many different death dreams. I would like to have some sort of understanding between their different nuances, such as: suicide dreams, the dreamer killing another person, being killed by another person, dying of old age, dying young from sickness, being killed by an animal, by a fall, by fire, etc… thank you.”
Listen to our discussion here: 2023-03-02 19:08:24 +0000 UTC
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LISTEN: https://thisjungianlife.com/tests/
The word test originally referred to an earthenware vessel in which metals were smelted to separate ore from dross. Like ancient vessels holding the heat of the refining fire, our task is to contain the tension of the test. Tests smelt fantasy from the ore of reality and force us to adapt. If a test feels arbitrary or unfair, we may be failing to dissolve the dross of inadequac...
2023-03-02 14:00:07 +0000 UTC
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Hey Patrons,
This week we’re answering this question, “What are the main steps to heal a negative father complex?”
Listen to our discussion here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fsoo5lo3595kqgs/TJL_254-PATREON.mp3?dl=0
Keep us on our toes and submit your questions through the link below! 2023-02-27 20:05:33 +0000 UTC
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Hey Patrons,
Today we're answering a question, “Limerence. It’s so painful and so wonderful. How do we work with it/overcome it/evolve it? Is it an archetype that one becomes possessed by?”
Here’s the link to our conversation: https://www.dropbox.com/s/anjj72dplq1vcwa/TJL_253-Invitation-PATREON.mp3?dl=0
Keep us on our toes and submit your question through the link below.
...
2023-02-24 22:38:46 +0000 UTC
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LISTEN: https://thisjungianlife.com/ethics/
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 denounce wrong, but the effort to banish shadow only allows it to emerge as projection onto others. We decry in ‘them’ what we deny in ourselves. Jung says, “The shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole ego-personality…for to become conscious of it in...
2023-02-23 14:27:45 +0000 UTC
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LISTEN: https://thisjungianlife.com/irresistible-invitations/
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 force.
When you receive an invitation, it is a moment of recognition, an invitation to be a part of something greater, to feel wanted, valued, and accepted. In the hierarchy of human needs, the sense of belongin...
2023-02-16 15:06:53 +0000 UTC
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LISTEN: https://thisjungianlife.com/aphrodites-shadow/
When the goddess Aphrodite claims us too fully, over time, our bodies become abandoned temples of physical perfection, sexual allure, and romantic passion.
Her seductive archetypal power has captivated us for eons, but in today’s world, the enhancements of fashion, beauty, and physical appearance have intensified veneration of this goddess. However, her enchantments can h...
2023-02-09 16:49:02 +0000 UTC
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LISTEN: https://thisjungianlife.com/marriage/
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 meaning behind this union of two souls?
Jung saw the definition of marriage as an alchemy of instinct and divinity, a blending of the physical and the spiritual. It is a bond that extends beyond legal and familial ties into the realm of th...
2023-02-02 13:39:54 +0000 UTC
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LISTEN: https://thisjungianlife.com/schizophrenia/
Schizophrenia Complex, presents a clear-eyed and compassionate understanding of our encounters with severe mental illness.
The submergence in unconscious chaos that defines schizophrenia triggers negative emotions in others—yet Jung on psychosis showed that we are different from those patients only in degree.
Significantly his Word Association Test proved that the unconscio...
2023-01-26 10:38:47 +0000 UTC
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Hey Patrons,
This week we’re interpreting a dream submitted by a $10 a month patron. We hope you’ll find this vitalizing and informative. If this piques your curiosity, submit your dream via the link below.
DREAM: “I have to go to prison. It’s temporary. I talk to my uncle on the phone and ask him to call my husband and the kids to explain the situation that I’m going to prison and that they won’t hear from me for a little while. I share my prison cell with a very, very masculine woman who’s also very fat. This ...
2023-01-19 23:36:28 +0000 UTC
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LISTEN: https://thisjungianlife.com/episode-249-bipolar/
Imprisoned by the sea with his son Icarus, mythological craftsman Daedalus constructed wings to escape. Beeswax held feathers in place, so Daedalus told Icarus not to fly too high or too low: the sun’s heat would melt the wax and sea spray would weigh the wings down. Elated, Icarus flew too high--and fell. Like Icarus, the moods of people with bipolar disorder swing from so...
2023-01-19 23:19:25 +0000 UTC
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LISTEN: https://thisjungianlife.com/episode-248-scam-artist/
Conned, swindled, or bilked, about 50 million Americans were ripped off by scammers in 2020. What deadens a person to preying on another? Tricksters commit crudely constructed fraud. Jung said they are “not really evil [but do] the most atrocious things from sheer unconsciousness and unrelatedness.” Cheaters may have behaved decently until tempted by need and oppo...
2023-01-12 17:47:47 +0000 UTC
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LISTEN: https://thisjungianlife.com/episode-247-best-of-2022/
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 raised our glasses in gratitude. We crested 8 million downloads, implemented major enhancements to your Dream School experience, started crafting our first book, The Key Dreams, and expanded our creative team. It’s been a yea...
2023-01-05 22:06:11 +0000 UTC
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Hey Patrons,
This week we’re exploring a new question submitted by a patron
Here’s the link to the discussion:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/butt33c4phi32ps/TJL_246-Sex-PATREON.mp3?dl=0
QUESTION: “I'm wondering about relationships - particularly if the two parties are both self aware, doing analysis, therapy, dream journals, active imagination practices, etc. If The Author has anything to s...
2022-12-29 05:25:10 +0000 UTC
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LISTEN: https://thisjungianlife.com/episode-246-sex/
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 of ancient temples and inform most mythological systems. Shiva and Shakti, in their union, create the universe – she providing all forms for his undifferentiated light. The gods beget gods as they mate, giving rise to infinite imagis...
2022-12-29 05:14:52 +0000 UTC
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Watch Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U42NyDm1XGw
the true heart
does not
speak in words
its language
a symphony
of color
your heart
as a child
of the sun
falls silent
on the longest night
folds upon itself
like a blanket
and descends
the thin voice
of your heart’s shell
groans
i cannot bear it
2022-12-27 18:14:02 +0000 UTC
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LISTEN: https://thisjungianlife.com/episode-245-holiday-hauntings/
Holiday homecomings kindle hopes of achieving a domestic ideal, though family gatherings are also likely to evoke old roles and emotions. Families open a portal into the patterns of the past, and unfinished business can cause repetition of disappointing dynamics as if one more replay will yield a different outcome. John Gottman, renowned interactive resear...
2022-12-22 20:42:50 +0000 UTC
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Dear Patrons,
We recently discovered that some of our members had received over 25 invoices for membership renewal. We registered a complaint with Patreon, and they have resolved the issue.
It was disappointing and upsetting to hear that our supporters were subject to these confusing and irritating emails. We treasure you and hope you'll weather this storm with us.
With much appreciation,
Joseph, Lisa & Deb
_________________________________________________________________________________________
2022-12-21 06:28:26 +0000 UTC
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Hey Patrons,
This week we’re exploring a new question submitted by a patron
Here’s the link to the discussion:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/phbdk7hxmfv43x9/TJL_244-PATREONn.mp3?dl=0
QUESTION: “You have hinted that dream figures that the dreamer is afraid of or finds dangerous usually represent the unowned, shadow parts of self. Does that mean nightmares, on the whole, are that? Or do they pla...
2022-12-15 19:42:50 +0000 UTC
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LISTEN:https://thisjungianlife.com/episode-244-film-therapists/
In psychoanalysis, a screen memory covers up a deeper, more emotionally charged issue. Similarly, movie and television screens both shield and open us to human complexity through fiction. The opportunity to peer into shadow and secrets from a safe distance is irresistible. Depictions of psychotherapists and therapy can range from the malevolent Nurse Ratched (<...
2022-12-15 19:41:13 +0000 UTC
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Hey Patrons,
This week we’re exploring a new question submitted by a patron.
Here’s the link to the discussion:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7x6qfy02jye91cn/TJL_243-PATREON.mp3?dl=0
QUESTION: “How is bulimia seen from a Jungian perspective?”
Let us know what you think.
~ Joseph
P.S. Submit your future questions here:
2022-12-08 20:56:07 +0000 UTC
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LISTEN: https://thisjungianlife.com/episode-243-revolution
We tend to think of revolution as a people’s push-back against perceived oppression—a reaction to rulership that has rejected fairness, change, and accessibility. When a rigid power structure reigns supreme—often presenting as idealism, spirituality, or cultural integrity—it can generate opposing force as an effort to restore rightness and realize renewal. For Jun...
2022-12-08 20:54:41 +0000 UTC
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Listen: https://thisjungianlife.com/episode-242-melancholy/
Melancholy evokes images of poets and artists for whom suffering and giftedness go hand in hand. Creative ability as compensation for affliction is depicted in Greek myth by the god Hephaestus. Rejected by his goddess mother and cast out of Olympus, alienated Hephaestus forged magnificent, magical objects for the gods. Such archetypal imagery can infor...
2022-12-01 17:10:08 +0000 UTC
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Hey Patrons,
This week we’re interpreting a dream submitted by a $10 a month patron.
Here’s the link to the discussion:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/kv5u6gbcntv7uf7/TJL_241-Games-PATREON.mp3?dl=0
Dream: “I am in a large ramshackle house (I think in France). It is wooden, and multistorey, it is darkish inside. I am on the ground floor, I look to my left which opens on...
2022-11-24 16:19:41 +0000 UTC
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LISTEN: https://thisjungianlife.com/episode-241-games/
Humans have played games since prehistoric times. Games bring us together and pit us against each other. We agree to rules, take turns, develop tolerance for frustration, and learn to win and lose. We develop skills and submit to chance. Games range from luck to skill, from a throw of the dice to acing it at tennis. Games regulate aggression: only one can win, whether on a gamebo...
2022-11-24 05:16:20 +0000 UTC
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Hey Patrons,
This week we’re exploring a new question submitted by a patron
Here’s the link to the discussion:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/e3mu18wuznaqwmo/TJL_240-PATREON.mp3?dl=0
QUESTION:
“How can one move past an incredibly visceral feeling of self-limitation and self-censoring, into an enjoyment of something like freely singing or dancing with people (or even doing normal things in ...
2022-11-17 18:03:10 +0000 UTC
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