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Living a Symbolic Life in a Technological Age. Our digital age presents unique challenges for the practice of the inner life. What can the insights of Jungian Psychology offer for dealing with these challenges? In this series, we explore Carl Jung's idea of "the symbolic life" through the lenses of depth psychology, mythology, fairy tales, poetry, religion, and more. We focus on three core questions: 1. What is the symbolic life? 2. Why do we need a symbolic life? and 3. How can we cultivate and live a symbolic life? This is a companion podcast to the book 'Religious but Not Religious: Living a Symbolic Life' by Jungian analyst Jason E. Smith.
86 Episodes
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In this episode: I return to the relationship between Ahab and Starbuck, focusing on a pivotal scene from Chapter 132, 'The Symphony'. I explore the ways our ideas of psychological change often involve a hidden quality of inflation. Sources for quotes and more: 'Moby-Dick' by Herman Melville (Chapter 132: The Symphony) S4 Ep. 9: The Gorgon's Eye'The Interpretation of Fairy Tales' by Marie-Louise von FranzMatthew 18:3 (NIV)'The Psychology of Child Archetype' by C.G. Jung in Collected Wor...
In this episode: I explore the tension between Captain Ahab and his first mate, Starbuck. Through this dynamic we examine themes of the relationship to nature and the nature of inner work. Sources for quotes and more: 'Moby-Dick' by Herman Melville (Chapter 16: The Ship; Chapter 26: Knights and Squires; Chapter 28: Ahab; Chapter 29: Enter Ahab; To Him Stubb; Chapter 36: The Quarter-Deck; Chapter 38: Dusk; Chapter 41: Moby-Dick) S4 Ep. 8: A Collision Course With Life'After the Catas...
In this episode: I delve into the character of Captain Ahab. Ahab is a tragic figure who draws his whole crew into the orbit of his psychological atmosphere. I go on to look at the tension between the will of the ego and the will of fate and discuss the hard work involved in becoming conscious. Sources for quotes and more: 'Moby-Dick' by Herman Melville (Chapter 16: The Ship; Chapter 20: All Astir; Chapter 28: Ahab; Chapter 51: The Spirit-Spout) S4, Ep. 2: Outcasts of the Spirit1 Kings 1...
In this episode: I explore the search for meaning, the alienation from nature, and the role of art in healing and connection. The contrasting paths of Ishmael and Ahab are presented and the need to understand the interconnectedness of all existence is discussed. Sources for quotes and more: 'Moby-Dick' by Herman Melville (Chapter 1: Loomings; Chapter 10: A Bosom Friend; Chapter 28: Ahab; Chapter 36: The Quarter-Deck; Chapter 72: The Monkey-rope; Chapter 135: The Chase - The Third Day) S4...
In this episode: I explore the creative process, the nature of art, and the psychological depths of the human experience through the lens of Herman Melville's 'Moby-Dick.' Sources for quotes and more: 'Moby-Dick' by Herman Melville (Chapter 1: Loomings; Chapter 87: The Grand Armada; Chapter 104: The Fossil Whale) 'Melville's Moby-Dick: A Jungian Commentary' by Edward Edinger'Psychology and Literature' by C.G. Jung (CW15)'On the Relation of Analytical Psychology and Poetry' by C.G. Jung (...
1In this episode: I explore one of the more challenging aspects of the symbolic life: the call to leave behind the comfort of the known, the safe, and the familiar. Sources for quotes and more: 'Moby-Dick' by Herman Melville (Chapter 3: The Spouter-Inn; Chapter 16: The Ship; Chapter 22: Merry Christmas; Chapter 23: The Lee Shore) 'The Development of the Personality' by C.G. Jung (CW17)The Bible -- Matthew 8:18 - 27'New Seeds of Contemplation' by Thomas Merton'Religious but Not Religious' ...
In this episode: I discuss the psychic split brought on by the experience of the modern world and the need for a connection with the soul and the mythic dimension of life. Sources for quotes and more: 'Moby-Dick' by Herman Melville (Chapter 3: The Spouter-Inn; Chapter 10: A Bosom Friend; Chapter 12: Biographical; Chapter 110: Queequeg in His Coffin) 'The Secret of the Golden Flower' by Richard Wilhelm & C.G. Jung'Archetypes of the Collective Unconscious' by C.G. Jung (CW9i)S4, Ep. 2...
In this episode: I explore the role of suffering and darkness as factors that awaken us to the need for what Jung calls a religious outlook. We look at ways that we can cultivate that outlook in an authentic way. Sources for quotes and more: 'Man and His Symbols' by C.G. Jung'Moby-Dick' by Herman Melville (Chapter 2: The Carpet-Bag; Chapter 3: The Spouter-Inn; Chapter 7: The Chapel; Chapter 8: The Pulpit) S3, Ep. 9: The Heart of the Matter: Alchemy and the Prima Materia'Psychotherapists...
In this episode: I examine the figure of Ishmael from Moby-Dick as a symbol of the human experience of alienation. I explore the question of how this experience comes about and what we can do to respond to it. Sources for quotes and more: 'Moby-Dick' by Herman Melville (Chapter 1: Loomings) 'A Credit to His Country,' review of Moby-Dick (Norton Edition)'Melville’s Use of the Bible' by Nathalia Wright'Commentary on the Secret of the Golden Flower' by C.G. Jung (CW13)‘On the Relation of A...
In this episode: I introduce the theme for this fourth season: Jung Aboard the Pequod -- a Jungian appreciation of Moby-Dick. I then explore the need for stories that are expansive enough to meet the call for meaning and purpose. Sources for quotes and more: 'Moby-Dick' by Herman Melville (Chapter 104: The Fossil Whale & Chapter 55: Monstrous Pictures of Whales) 'Psychology and Literature' by C.G. Jung (CW15)'Melville’s Moby-Dick: A Jungian Commentary' by Edward Edinger'Memories, Dr...
In this episode: The podcast returns after an extended hiatus to begin a new season. Connect with me: Instagram(@digital.jung) Facebook (facebook.com/jungiananalyst) Twitter(@DigitalJungPod) Subscribe to the Digital Jung Newsletter (https://digitaljung.substack.com/) For more on living a symbolic life: Please check out my book, Religious but Not Religious: Living a Symbolic Life. Sources for quotes and more: A Man Lost By a River, poem by Michael Blumenthal S1, Ep. 24: Wandering Off ...
In this episode: I conclude this series on the fairytale The Iron Stove with a discussion of just what constitutes the goal of the symbolic life. Let's make this a conversation: Do you have a comment or question about this episode, or about something you would like me to address in a future episode? Please contact me on Instagram(@digital.jung), Facebook (facebook.com/jungiananalyst), or Twitter(@Jason_E_Smith) Or: Subscribe to the Digital Jung Newsletter (https://digitaljung.substack....
In this episode: In this third part of my series on the fairytale The Iron Stove, I explore the importance of bringing together the mind and the body in the work of the symbolic life. Let's make this a conversation: Do you have a comment or question about this episode, or about something you would like me to address in a future episode? Please contact me on Instagram (@digital.jung), Facebook (facebook.com/jungiananalyst), or Twitter (@Jason_E_Smith) Or: Subscribe to the Digital Jung N...
In this episode: I continue to explore the riches of the fairytale The Iron Stove, this time looking at the ways we resist the necessity of change in our lives. Let's make this a conversation: Do you have a comment or question about this episode, or about something you would like me to address in a future episode? Please contact me on Instagram (@digital.jung), Facebook(facebook.com/jungiananalyst), or Twitter (@Jason_E_Smith) Or: Subscribe to the Digital Jung Newsletter (https://digit...
In this episode: I begin an exploration of the fairytale 'The Iron Stove' and explore what it means to be called beyond the limitations of the ego to an experience of the spirit. Let's make this a conversation: Do you have a comment or question about this episode, or about something you would like me to address in a future episode? Please contact me on Instagram (@digital.jung), Facebook(facebook.com/jungiananalyst), or Twitter (@Jason_E_Smith) Or: Subscribe to the Digital Jung Newslet...
In this episode: I look at one of the more difficult experiences of the symbolic life, an experience best known by its religious name: the "dark night of the soul." Let's make this a conversation: Do you have a comment or question about this episode, or about something you would like me to address in a future episode? Please contact me on Instagram (@digital.jung), Facebook(facebook.com/jungiananalyst), or Twitter (@Jason_E_Smith) Or: Subscribe to the Digital Jung Newsletter (https://d...
In this episode: I explore Jung’s concept of the unconscious — what it is, how it is experienced, and what it suggests about the idea of healing in analysis. Let's make this a conversation: Do you have a comment or question about this episode, or about something you would like me to address in a future episode? Please contact me on Instagram (@digital.jung), Facebook(facebook.com/jungiananalyst), or Twitter (@Jason_E_Smith) Or: Subscribe to the Digital Jung Newsletter (https://digitalj...
In this episode: I conclude this series on the symbolism of alchemy by looking at the all-important image of the goal of the alchemical opus: The Philosophers’ Stone. Let's make this a conversation: Do you have a comment or question about this episode, or about something you would like me to address in a future episode? Please contact me on Instagram (@digital.jung), Facebook(facebook.com/jungiananalyst), or Twitter (@Jason_E_Smith) Or: Subscribe to the Digital Jung Newsletter (https:/...
In this episode: I continue with the third part of a four-part series on alchemy, this time looking at the stages of the alchemical opus and their meaning for the work of the symbolic life. Let's make this a conversation: Do you have a comment or question about this episode, or about something you would like me to address in a future episode? Please contact me on Instagram (@digital.jung), Facebook(facebook.com/jungiananalyst), or Twitter (@Jason_E_Smith) Or: Subscribe to the Digital J...
In this episode: I continue with the second part of a four-part series on alchemy, looking at the symbol and the psychological meaning of what the alchemists called the prima materia. Let's make this a conversation: Do you have a comment or question about this episode, or about something you would like me to address in a future episode? Please contact me on Instagram (@digital.jung), Facebook(facebook.com/jungiananalyst), or Twitter (@Jason_E_Smith) Or: Subscribe to the Digital Jung Ne...
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I love your podcast. So good to see that you’re back!
Your podcast is literally my favorite podcast. Can't wait your next episode.