Depth psychology, religion, spirituality, and more
SOMETIMES IT SEEMS WE’VE STEPPED THROUGH ALICE’S LOOKING GLASS into a world in which it’s become all but impossible to differentiate truth from lies and reality from wish fulfilling delusion. In this social context, Pilate’s question to Jesus (Jn. 18:38) becomes achingly relevant. What is truth, indeed? Who knows anymore, and how? In Paul’s first …
Continue reading "How to Tell What’s True from What’s False"
Sailor Suite The current will seem random,When the tiller has no guiding hand.But . . . we always mold the flowThat will carry us along. Still . . .A ship without a portCan onlyCast its anchorIn shifting sand. You’ve got me hangin’ onLike a hangman pulling higher.Hangman can’t you seeYou will set me freeEven if …
OUR WORLD IS AWASH IN SYMBOLS, VIBRATING WITH MEANING. In order to grasp the meaning, of course, you have to be able to recognize a symbol, when you see one. Everyone knows “fine art” is full of symbols. The meaning in a painting, a drawing, a print, a piece of sculpture unfolds when you engage …
Continue reading "Oh, the Symbols You’ll See, the Stories You’ll Tell"
THE ANCIENT GREEK GODS WERE KNOWN TO BE AUTONOMOUS POWERS who were able to overwhelm mortal humans at any moment. Modern depth psychology tells us that human emotions are also autonomous powers that, like the ancient gods, are able to overwhelm us — at any moment. Does it seem a bit much to liken our …
PROJECTIONS ARE RAMPANT IN OUR “SCHIZOID” SOCIAL WORLD THESE DAYS. It’s become a truism, even a cliché, to observe how divided our society has become. Once upon a time, I felt our society was neurotic. Now, it is so split that our collective consciousness seems to be on the verge of a psychotic break. As …
IF YOU LOOK AT IT PSYCHOLOGICALLY RATHER THAN THEOLOGICALLY, you’ll discover a fundamental problem with the way we see Christ. The traditional images of Christ, the ones with which we are so familiar, are all unambiguously masculine. On the one hand, we see Christ, the glorious son of God, ascended into heaven and sitting at …
WHAT DO IVY, GRAPE VINES, LIONS, BEARS, BULLS, AND MASKS HAVE IN COMMON? They’re all associated with Dionysus in ancient myth, literature, and art. Dionysus is not simply the god of wine. He cannot be reduced to the jovial, tipsy Bacchus immortalized in the Disney treatment of Beethoven’s “Pastoral” in Fantasia — although that is …
THIS WEEK’S POST IS WILL BE A LITTLE DIFFERENT, a little more personal than usual. Here’s why. The online course I’m offering, “Jesus and the Feminine in the Gospel of John,” begins next week (see my note below). Although I’m offering it through my local church, the course is open to the public at large. …
WHEN JESUS COMES BEFORE PILATE, WHO’S FACING JUDGMENT? We are, according to the account in the Gospel of John (18:28-19:16). Here’s how. John’s story of Jesus before Pilate reads as if it were an episode in a play. The episode has seven scenes, alternately taking place outside and inside the governor’s fortress in Jerusalem. Here’s …
WHILE HEIGHT IS A METAPHOR FOR THE SPIRIT, DEPTH IS A METAPHOR FOR THE SOUL. Might it be possible to reach the transcendent heights of the spirit by diving deep into the soul? Could the “ascent of Mt. Carmel,” advocated by St. John of the Cross, be a soulful descent? The answer in both cases, …
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Soul Spirit Wisdom 