Photo courtesy of J. Gary Sparks J. Gary Sparks is a Zürich-trained Jungian analyst and author in private practice in Indianapolis, Indiana. He holds a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Bucknell University, a Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, and a Diploma in Analytical Psychology (the degree of a Jungian Analyst) from the C.G. Jung Institute Zürich. His thesis advisor was Jung’s closest student and collaborator, Marie-Louise von Franz, Ph.D. and his training analysts included Jung’s grandson, Dieter ..read more

Image 1 (see section below) Recent Art by BTS, through the Lens of My Objective Psyche By Wade D. Peterson, Minneapolis, MN A guest blog by a long-time Speaking of Jung listener. This little essay is an analysis of recent art by BTS, made through the lens of my objective psyche. By that I mean I use a process of active imagination called the “…signal that registered in my mind…” technique.¹ I clear my mind, focus on some stated goal, and then write down my thoughts verbatim, including any associations I might have. It’s a running dialogue of thoughts and images, usually recorded as a collage ..read more

From the Prologue to Transforming Depression: A Jungian Approach Using the Creative Arts by Jungian analyst and psychiatrist David H. Rosen, M.D. Dr. Rosen will be our guest in Episode 93. The model of egocide and transformation involves four aspects: Bad News, Good News, Symbolic Death, and New Life. “What I now call egocide [is] the letting-go of a hurt and hurting dominant ego-image or identity. The suffix -cide means kill. However, egocide is a symbolic killing of the ego that is experienced as ego death: a sacrifice of the ego to the Self, a higher principle. Egocide is the core strategy ..read more

Ted Lasso is a new comedy airing exclusively on Apple TV+: Jason Sudeikis is Ted Lasso, an American football coach hired to manage a British soccer team – despite having no experience. But what he lacks in knowledge, he makes up for with optimism, underdog determination…and biscuits. Season 2’s Episode 8 – titled “Man City” – aired on September 10, 2021 and featured the book The Middle Passage: From Misery to Meaning in Midlife by frequent Speaking of Jung guest and world-renowned Jungian analyst James Hollis, Ph.D. The Middle Passage is Hollis’s first title published by Inner City Books. In ..read more

The Collected Works of Marie-Louise von Franz is a 28-volume magnum opus from Chiron Publications in Asheville, North Carolina. General Editors are Jungian psychiatrists Steven Buser, M.D. and Leonard Cruz, M.D. You can hear them discuss the series in Episode 78 of Speaking of Jung, recorded on January 6, 2021. The Foundation for Jungian Psychology (Stiftung Jungsche Psychologie) in Küsnacht, Switzerland manages the literary inheritance of Marie-Louise von Franz. This series is published with their cooperation. Translators are Roy Freeman and Tony Woolfson. The first volume was released on Ja ..read more

Instead of taking to social media, I decided to post this message here in the Blog. As some of you may know, I am not a writer. I just don’t enjoy it. I like to talk, I like to listen, and I like to read. I don’t like to write. But I now feel it necessary to make a statement about the creation, rise, longevity, and demise of Speaking of Jung’s Quarantine Series. I created it as an outlet, a way of staying connected to people during my extended time at home during the lockdown. Never did I imagine it would hurt Speaking of Jung as much as it did. I am shocked and saddened by the backlash. In M ..read more

James Hollis, Ph.D. lecturing in Nashville on May 13, 2017. Photo courtesy of Anthony Peña. James Hollis, Ph.D. is a Jungian analyst, author, and lecturer in private practice in Washington, D.C. He holds a doctorate in literature from Drew University and taught humanities and the philosophic traditions of cultures for 26 years before training as a Jungian analyst at the C.G. Jung Institute Zürich. Dr. Hollis is the co-founder and first director of training of the Philadelphia Jung Institute, and served for many years as Executive Director of the C.G. Jung Educational Center in Houston. In 201 ..read more

Murray Stein at his office in Zürich, Switzerland, Nov. 25, 2015. Photo by Laura London. Please do not use without written permission. (I took this photo after a long and complicated journey from Chicago to Zürich. Please stop using it without my permission.) Murray Stein, Ph.D. is a Jungian analyst and author in private practice in Zürich, Switzerland. He earned a Master of Divinity from Yale University and a Ph.D. in religion and psychological studies from the University of Chicago Divinity School. He trained as a Jungian analyst at the C.G. Jung Institute Zürich and later co-founded the C ..read more

C.G. Jung, “The Tavistock Lectures,” Lecture III: [148] A complex is an agglomeration of associations—a sort of picture of a more or less complicated psychological nature—sometimes of traumatic character, sometimes simply of a painful and highly toned character. Everything that is highly toned is rather difficult to handle. If, for instance, something is very important to me, I begin to hesitate when I attempt to do it, and you have probably observed that when you ask me difficult questions I cannot answer them immediately because the subject is important and I have a long reaction time. I be ..read more

Fray Juan Battista de Maino, “St. Catherine of Siena,” Spanish, 1612-1614, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado In Episode 50 of the podcast, Speaking of Jung: Interviews with Jungian Analysts, I spoke with Dr. Melanie Starr Costello about the meaning of mysticism. Catherine of Siena featured prominently in our talk. It is still a mystery as to how I found myself kneeling at her tomb, on multiple occasions, unbeknownst to me. (See photos below) During my first visit to Rome, Italy, in 2010, I visited the Basilica di Santa Maria sopra Minerva at the recommendation of my friend, William Henry. You ..read more