Eco-Psychology in the Borderlands -- Audio interview with Jerome S. Bernstein

Posted by Bonnie Bright on June 11, 2011 at 4:58pm

This is an excellent audio interview with Jerome Bernstein, Jungian analyst and clinician who now teaches at the Santa Fe Jung institute. His book "Living in the Borderland: The Evolution of Consciousness and the Challenge of Healing Trauma" has deeply impacted my own life and work as he discusses how nature or the collective unconscious is reaching out to reconnect with humans who have lost contact due to our lopsided overgrown western egos in order to pull us back from the brink of extinction. 

If you don't know his work--and even if you do--you simply must take the time to learn more....

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Tags: bernstein, borderlands, clinical, ecopsychology, nature, psychology
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  • Lynn Marie Hynes June 13, 2011 at 2:03pm
    I just finished listening to this interview.  Thank you for posting this, Bonnie.  As I attempt to narrow my dissertation topic, I was inspired by what Jerome said about "simply listening" and not attempting (in our Western minds) to interpret.  The realization is that I perhaps need to listen to my own inner voice to see what is coming up, and listening to others as they express their deepest longings, anxieties, and thoughts.  There is no forcing a new idea to emerge.  It is about the letting go and deep listening.  Great inspiration to move my work forward and to remain open to others/nature.
    • Sharon Heath > Lynn Marie Hynes September 18, 2011 at 10:07am
      Jerome's work is groundbreaking - by bringing the perspective of indigenous healers to the practice of analytical psychology, he's giving hope and meaning to so many gifted "canaries in the coal mine" amongst us. He's informed and enriched my own clinical practice and personal journey immeasurably.
  • Susan Burns June 12, 2011 at 10:35am

    Bonnie, this IS an excellent interview. Thank you for sharing. It is very stimulating, causing me to appreciate more deeply the intricate wisdom of what we cannot often get to in between the worlds. Jerome shows how it is always there as a well to be drawn from. His articles in the past have also informed my work. The interview is a reminder to feel into the innocence of a moment, and to appreciate the value of deep listening. It offers me fresh insight to helping some I work with through the borderlands and meaningfully adds to a very poignnant experience I recently had to realize just how thin the veils in the borderlands can be, but how very accessible when presence is the gateway.

    I also appreciate what it takes for you to keep us all connected and to offer the work. Thank you!

    • Bonnie Bright > Susan Burns June 12, 2011 at 1:39pm
      Thank you for your comments, Susan. I am especially aware at the moment of your remark about the value of deep listening. In the interview, you'll recall, Dr. Bernstein talks about how the Navajo initially engaged him as a consultant because they were "listening to him listen". I was out in my garden this morning and tried listening to some flowers that I really believed were listening to me! It was quite remarkable!--I think I got a tiny taste of the gateway there. Indeed, when we turn focused attention to the living world, the veil becomes thinner. Beautiful!
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