Guide
to the Transpersonal InternetCarl
Gustav Jung
Biography
Carl Jung made monumental contributions to our deep understanding of the human personality. His pioneering work sheds light on human development, particularly during middle age. Jung places central importance on the psychological changes that are associated with midlife. He maintains that we need to let go of many of the values and behaviors that guided the first half of our life and confront our unconscious. We can best do this by paying attention to the messages of our dreams and by engaging in creative activities such as writing or painting. The task facing us during the midlife period is to be less influenced by rational thought and to instead give expression to these unconscious forces and integrate them into our conscious life (Schultz & Schultz, 1994).
Jung himself learned a great deal from his own midlife crisis. At age 81 he wrote about his recollections in his autobiography, Memories, Dreams, Reflections (1961), in which he also identified some of his major contributions. Jung made a choice to focus on the unconscious realm in his personal life, which also made a choice to focus on the unconscious realm in his personal life, which also influenced the development of his theory of personality. However, he had a very different conception of the unconscious than did Freud. Although he was a colleague of Freud's and valued many of his contributions, he eventually came to the point of not being able to support some of his basic concepts, especially his theory of sexuality. Jung recalls Freud's words to him: "My dear Jung, promise me never to abandon the sexual theory. This is the most essential thing of all. You see we must make a dogma of it, an unshakable bulwark" (Jung, 1961, p.150). Jung became convinced that he could no longer collaborate with Freud because he believed that Freud placed his own authority over truth. Freud had little tolerance for other theoretician such as Jung, who dared to challenge his theories. Although Jung had a lot to lose professionally by withdrawing from Freud, he saw no other choice. He subsequently developed a spiritual approach that places great emphasis on being impelled to find meaning in life, rather than being driven by the psychological and biological forces described by Freud.
In contrast to Freudian determinism, Jung maintains that humans are not merely shaped by past events but also progress beyond their past. Part of the nature of humans is to be constantly developing, growing, and moving toward a balanced and complete level of development.
For Jung, our present personality is determined both by who and what we have been and also by the person we hope to become. The process of self-actualization is oriented toward the future. His theory is based on the assumption that humans tend to move toward the fulfillment or realization of all of their capabilities. Achieving individuation, or the harmonious integration of the conscious and unconscious aspects of personality, is viewed as being an innate and primary goal. For Jung, we have both constructive and destructive forces, and to become integrated, it is essential to accept the dark side of our nature with its primitive impulses such as selfishness and greed. Acceptance of this dark side (or shadow) does not imply being dominated by this dimension of our being but simply recognizing that this is a part of our nature.
Jung teaches that many dreams contain messages from the deepest layer of the unconscious, which he describes as the source of creativity. He calls this deep layer the collective unconscious "Uberpersonliche (Transpersonal) Unconscious" the "all-controlling deposit of ancestral experiences" (Schultz & Schultz, 1994, p. 85). Jung sees a connection between each person's personality and the past, not only childhood events but also the history of the species. Dreams thus reflect both an individual's personal unconscious and the collective unconscious. This means that some dreams deal with an individual's relationship to a larger whole such as the family, universal humanity, or generations over time. The contents of the collective unconscious are called archetypes. This is one of the most important early writings of Carl Jung, which maintained an interest in transcendence.
Jung maintained that all people share the Collective Unconscious. Through it we are connected with each other and the world in a fundamental and dissoluble way. Among the most important archetypes, are the persona, the anima and animus, and the shadow. The persona is a mask, or public face, that we wear to protect ourselves. The animus and the anima represent both the biological and psychological aspects of masculinity and femininity, which are thought to coexist in both sexes. The shadow has the deepest roots and is the most dangerous and powerful of the archetypes. It represents our dark side, the thoughts, feelings, and actions that are socially reprehensible and those we tend to disown by projecting them outward. In a dream all of these parts can be considered manifestations of who and what we are. The contents of the Collective Unconscious are the foundation of transpersonal experiences. While we usually experience such archetypes indirectly through dreams, rituals, and symbols, mystical experiences, Jung maintained, are direct experiences of archetypes.
Jung agrees with Freud that dreams provide a pathway into the unconscious, but he differs from Freud on their function. He wrote that dreams have two purposes: They are prospective; in that they help people prepare themselves for the experiences and events they anticipate in the near future. They also serve a compensatory function; that is, they work to bring about a balance between opposites within the person. They compensate for the over development of one facet of the individual's personality. Jung views dreams more as an attempt to express than an attempt to repress and disguise. They are a creative effort of the dreamer in struggling with contradiction, complexity, and confusion. The aim of the dream is resolution and integration. According to Jung, each part of the dream can be understood as some projected quality of the dreamer. His method of interpretation draws on a series of dreams obtained from a person, during the course of which the meaning gradually unfolds.
Jung frequently wrote about spiritual experiences as a sign of mental health and, ultimately, the only relief from neurosis. His influence on transpersonal psychology remains very strong.
References
Corey, Gerald (1996). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy.
(5th ed). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Jung, C. G. (1961). Memories, dreams, reflections. New York: Vintage.
Schultz, D., & Schultz, S.E. (1994).Theories of personality .(5th ed.). Pacific
Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Jungian Psychology
* Psychoanalytic Coalition of Minnesota
Includes the Minnesota Jungian Seminar
* The Assisi Conferences and Seminars
* Jungian Analytical Association of Greater Washington Metropolitan Area
JAAGWMA: Under Construction
* The C.G.Jung Center of Philadelphia now has a web site located at: http://members.aol.com/philajung
Gisela Behrens writes: "Our website currently contains a calendar of events (Lecture Series, Studio Series, Special Events, and Workshops), event descriptions, biographical information about the presenters, locations and times, and general information concerning membership, contributions, and how to contact us."
E-mail: C.G.Jung Center of Philadelphia at PhilaJung@aol.com
* The Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism
* The C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco
* The International Association for Analytical Psychology A site is now being developed for the IAAP.
* The C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago: information on public programs and training; books available
* C.G. Jung Institute of Denver
* C.G. Jung Educational Center, Houston, Texas
* Jung Archives at the ETH Check the History of Science Collection (Wissenschaftshistorische Sammlungen) at the ETH in Zurich for archives of the Jung estate.
* C.G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles: a very attractive Web location providing access to the bookstore and information about training, about the Hilde Kirsch Children's Center, the Kieffer E. Frantz C linic, Psychological Perspectives , and much more.
* C.G. Jung Society of Vancouver: Join the community site for access to Society news and other resources.
* Oregon Friends of C.G. Jung
* The C.G. Jung Foundation of New York:
* The C.G. Jung Institute of New York Training Program
* North Pacific Institute for Analytical Psychology
* Phoenix Friends of C.G. Jung: Calendar of Events
* Le Cercle Jung de Québec: a new website
* The Salt Lake C.G. Jung Study Group
* The C.G. Jung Society, Seattle
* C.G. Jung Society of Tidewater: The society sponsors speakers and produces a newsletter with the goal of fostering Jungian thought in the Tidewater, Virginia area.
* Outpatient Jungian Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy: "Efficacy and Cost Effectiveness: A Catamnestic Study" by W. Keller, G. Westhoff, R. Dilg, R. Rohner, H.H. Studt and the study group on empirical psychotherapy research in analytical psychology, Department of Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Benjamin Franklin, Free University of Berlin. A German version of the same study is available at the same web site. The main site concerns health information privacy. In the section "Spezielle Themen" there is also a part on psychotherapy/psychiatry. There are many links to sources in English.
* Jungian Seminars in Switzerland for 2 week sessions in January and August.
* The Guild of Analytical Psychology and Spirituality in London has a website that introduces it's programs: http://www.gaps.co.uk
Analytical Psychology Books, a related web site, also has a new web site: http://www.apbooks.co.uk
Themes Related to Jungian Psychology
* PsycheMatters, a web site by Cheryl Martin RN, MA, LPC of Dallas, Texas.
* The Long Island Family Therapists have compiled a valuable list of links--Connections--to various mental health topics.
* Narrative Psychology: Internet and Resource Guide ed. by Vincent Hevern, SJ, Ph.D. at LeMoyne College
* The Emergence of Archetypes in Present-day Science: It's significance for a contemporary philosophy of nature.
* Full Circle Center for the Arts, Jungian and Yoga Studies in Syracuse, New York
* C.G. Jung's philosophy of imaginary: Jung le méconnu de la philosophie par Sophie Carre. The philosophical problems of analytical psychoanalysis--English and French translations coming soon.
* RUBEDORubedo: a Brasilian web-site about Archetypal Psychology and Post-Jungian Psychology. We have articles by James Hillman, David Tacey, Sonu Shamdasani, Ginette Paris, and others.
Mental Health Licensure Resources This is an excellent connection for anyone wanting to know more about licensure in different states. I found it while checking random sites through the Mental Health Chase link on the home page. http://www.tarleton.edu/~counseling/coresour/lllpc.htm
* The Sandplay Therapists of America maintain a web site at http://www.sandplay.org. Each month the editors place an article on-line from the Journal of Sandplay Therapy Kate Amatruda, MFCC, ISST, Webmistress
* Prima Materia contains information principally related to C.G. Jung and James Hillman
* SocialWorld: Patrick Macartney's homepage with links to subjects such as psychology, sociology, existentialism, postmodernism. Worth surfing.
* The Friends Conference on Religion and Psychology Founded by Elined Kotchnig, who was a Jungian Analyst, along with several others who were interested in the interface between Jungian Depth Psychology and Quaker Worship
* Keirsey Temperament Sorter Jungian personality test
* Katherine Benziger, Ph.D. Jungian typology, falsification of type. Watch for new developments at this site.
* TypeDynamics of London Ontario, Canada. Take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Career Counseling. Site hosted by Charles McNeil.
* Myers-Briggs Personality Typology on the Web by Mary Hoerr. Articles, links.
* Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Frequently asked questions.
* C.G. Jung Anthology by Jonathan Walz, creator of first major Jungian Web site, technically and aesthetically fine.
* High Performing Systems is an integrated systems approach to organizational development. Team development and valuing people through the understanding of psychological type (MBTI). by Dick Thompson.
* Transparency: interprets and critiques movies and television, news and political rhetoric, theme parks and advertising, computer games, the Internet, and a good deal more
* The Alchemy Web Site: Set up by Adam McLean with over 700 pages and 500 graphic images. Send e-mail to alchemy@dial.pipex.com
* The Zodiac Hacker a site devoted to astrology, Jungian psychology, culture, music, and the possibilities of web site development.
* Archetypal Astrology Douglas Boyd
* The Ninth Street Center East Village - A site dedicated to the ground-breaking work of Paul Rosenfels in developing a science of human nature. Material on introversion, extroversion, gender, se xuality, homosexuality, and interpersonal creativity
* Mystic Fire Video A long list of excellent videotapes, including a video on Jung called, "Artist of the Soul"
* Dynamical Psychology An electronic refereed journal that, among other topics, explores the relationship between Jungian psychology and dynamics, systems theory, etc.
* Alexandria on the Web Cosmology, philosophy, myth, and culture.
* Society for Chaos Theory in Psychology and the Life Sciences.
* Archetypal Astrology
* The Jung Circle a site organized by Maureen Roberts, Ph.D., from Australia
* Jung and Other Psychological Theorists with other attractions. By Eric Pettifor.
* Institute for Psychological Study of the Arts
Web page
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?sid=8&firstindex=0&RQT=511&TS
http://atpweb.org/gti.html - tppioneer
http://www.cgjungpage.org/jpintro.html
http://www.cgjungpag.org/jplexicon.html.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos