We engaged in a lively discussion today with panel and members on the subject of "What is Depth Psychology?" If we did not arrive at a definitive conclusion, we have certainly begun to redefine what "Depth Psychology" may mean for us in the cataclysmic times in which we find ourselves.
The discussion has begun as we collectively as a group begin to unravel what it means to find "soul" and "meaning' and how to bring it out "to the streets".
There is so much room here for further discussion and conversation; it seems that many of us have been waiting a long time; silenced by the dominant paradigm that has no language for what it means to live from 'depth". Yet, we crave it; we are answering soul's call to re-engage and create community here and now in whatever format it is available to us.
We are in the midst of a Global Renaissance; a rebirth of consciousness. Our old systems are breaking down, dissolving, disintegrating...The new horizons are not yet apparent. We are caught in the betwixt and between, the tension of the opposites and so here we must hang until we can surrender our attachments to what is outworn and tired and no longer sustainable. There is nothing more frightening for humans than to give up our comfort and so we wait until it is ripped away from under us. That is the nature of a Plutonian/Uranian revolution. Pluto as a metaphor for the force of destruction and Uranus as a force of rebirth...
C.G. Jung stated that what we don't bring to consciousness comes to us as fate". These are prophetic words at this time. We are called to awaken and to connect with one another. We cannot proceed alone in a vacuum. The work begins individually in confronting our own inner demons. It is inner work with our own Daimon but now, we many of us are ready to bring it to a collective forum.
A new cycle has begun and the horizon is not yet visible. One thing we are discovering is that this transformational journey on which we find ourselves is both profoundly personal and collective. We must begin to discern where the individual intersects with the collective to make our way forward in consciousness.
I am deeply grateful for this discussion to ALL of you!
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Dear Eva,
Your comments resonate with me and I agree with what you have conveyed here. The Aquarian Age is here and with it brings precisely what you have articulated. The old ways of operating (e.g. APA, etc) are not going to work any longer. The lies and deceit that have dominated and shaped reality and brought about despair are coming to light and 'falling apart.'
I am honestly encouraged by what is happening in our world yet the level of violence and the continuing to resolve conflict through war is disturbing. It is perhaps that we have not yet reached the breaking point. I hope that we do not find ourselves immersed within a civil war, but it may come to that.
On a brighter note, so many therapists and practitioners are breaking rank with that which is anachronistic and used simply in response to meeting diagnosis criteria, etc. For this, I am hopeful. This forces everyone to be creative and not allow what is known to be suppressed. The use of technology has played a critical part in exposing, confronting, and connecting others for the collective good.
I am just not beginning to review the posts and while this is a quick response, I wanted to honor your comments as I hope that we may continue this conversation as time permits.
Sharon
Thanks for your reflections here, Pamela. I think your observation about depth psychology as the "healing of the split within oneself" is paramount—for we are all split, and often through the trauma of our individual histories, whether familial, cultural, political, etc. On one hand, it is almost impossible to believe this is not simply human nature—yet on the other, when we look at the natural world populated by non-human persons, I feel hopeful.
June 30, 2015 - Thank you Jesse for taking some of your precious time to provide me with your opinions and the deep insights you hold in regard to your intentions/desire to connect on a deep level, the lack of control in “virtual land” or any other “land” for that matter [leads back to More’s finding: land ownership as a root [core] problem, and the overriding agreement that it is extremely difficult to expose, bear and reveal one’s soul states with the depth of what it is "exactly" we are defining as “sacred” and how we even got to know what that is along the journey of life [in our time]. What brought us to our knees!
I was listening to the radio just before coming to respond back to you and a writer for The Guardian was being interviewed. He was speaking about how we [culture] wants and needs to define ourselves, our societal formation/organization of people, and that everyone believes this is the Nanotechnological Age in accordance with the technological advances of our times.” He spoke sombrely while listing: the Stone Age, the Dark Ages, the Middle Ages, the Industrial Age, the Technological Age, the Space Age, and then, he asked himself, “ What will be the current descriptor of our age?”
After reading a lot of feedback, many threads on this matter, searching for the current cultural, dominant and recurrent theme, this Guardian writer stated he was shocked to discover that the descriptor of this age will be - the Age of Loneliness. When asked what could we do, he stated, “Stay connected with your friends for love is what is needed.
With these, his findings and your contribution today, concerning “dynamic cultural enmeshment alongside each persons right to identify one’s passion and boundaries, plus the importance of protection what one holds as sacred; I do believe, secondary to my own experiences, the question, “Who can stand and importance of remaining firmly grounded [whatever, wherever that may be]. I simply call this bottom-line ground based on the core values and morals that reside in my heart in lifelong service of humanity.
And in this moment, right here and right now, if I tie these 3 primary thoughts as delivered by todays airwaves, we have before us: loneliness, the sacred and bottom-line ground. And a familiar song returns to my heart, from just before I entered the helping professions, that bathed my heart and provided me with solace - to this day.
https://youtu.be/A36xxhKnVvQ
Wow, thank
Linda, the images you bring up here: loneliness, the sacred, and ground are profoundly integral to depth psychology and therefore to each of us as individuals. What do these three things have in common, I wonder. Sometimes, all I feel I can do in the face of so much movement and fragmentation that is our culture (and therefore our container) today is to simply open myself to the images and try to hold the tension longer than I can possibly imagine...and of course, that too, is the heart of depth psychology.
Eva,
You are so right, as psychology defined is in truth “the study of soul.” Within this definition, of course is our tried and true Psyche/Eros myth to which I often refer when tasks are almost too arduous.
Regarding the “edge of extinction,” you have described our situation beautifully. We are facing what Jung prophesized via his dying dreams and what more can we do but continue our depth psychology? Personally, I have been choicelessly grieving for decades the ravaging of mother/matter/mater earth, the loss of her seasons; the usurping of literature and art and soulful reflection, the gradual loss of personal human relations, and the loss of myth by the mega swift advent of cyber-technology. The warring split is upon us globally. All of this, the result of loss of soul, a memory loss of cultures past, and a general denial that pervades the collective consciousness.
It seems to me the solution exists in not only confronting the inner reaction to the threatening world around us, but, as you point out so well, the active participation in rituals. It is helpful to be reminded of this. I too get swept away by the tides of this cataclysmic revolution. We are human, after all.
It is strengthening to be able to talk to you Self-to-Self, perhaps what Jung said would be one of the outcomes of depth psychology, “the socialization of Self.” Perhaps this is what Bonnie had in mind when she so courageously initiated this website.
I salute you for your therapeutic work with suffering souls. And I give my respect to all, no matter where we live in the evolution of consciousness, for I am surely sleeping like so many.
We don't know the possible ending of it all, do we?
As Linda, as an intelligent and thinking individual, calls the mass murder (the villagers where my mother was born were cut to pieces by Croat soldiers and with the approval from NATO - it was an amusement park compared to what's been happening in Iraq and Kosovo (Old Serbia)) and exodus of my people "world peace" and "God bless NATO", is it even physically possible to avoid the extinction? Wildlife and brown and black people are in the middle of the genocide. The United Nations have been dead for 20 years. Actually they have never been alive and relevant. Serbs (and Ukrainians and Russians lately) are both brown and white in that process, the first on the shooting list. And what's the answer to that "process" (as if it's weather and not mass murder and torture) - calm down and meditate? It's psychopaths and their herd of "innocents" who survive that process. On the other hand, the best among us in the realm of science were suffering a lot because of their surplus of knowledge and understanding. They suffered for nothing or as we say in Serbia: "For whose grandma's health?" Hence, depression and screaming in agony also aren't a viable option.
Good evening Pamela - I'm so appreciative of the gift of your time spent reviewing all the treads, providing excellent analysis, and auspicious suggestions for one to ponder. I heard you and am listenings deeply. I concur we need each other which is why I am here, especially in these times to support, encourage and learn from each other. Sometime, in life dreams do come true and many of my daydreams have been fulfilled beyond imagination.
The potential and possibilities are vast...and I am currently awestruck concerning the holdings, alignments and synchronicity of it all. Of all my virtual travels and experiences since 1991 [dial-up days], I know I am present within an amazing virtual space, community...and friends...so glad I got to experience this in my living years. Dessert for desert experience and this is no mirage nor dream for me!
The old saying...ask and you shall receive! Aleksandar and I are well served with need to digest this full meal deal. Peace + Love Linda
I apologize for the interruption, Pamela. The rest of the comment where you don't mention Linda and me is great.
Disaster? Where? I don't see any. Whatever.
Good morning Aleksandar - yes, it seemed relevant to share the links here and ask you the questions I did, however, I notice - again- you do not directly answer a question from me with a direct answer, so it is difficult to engage in depth, meaningful [level 5] conversation with you. I do not recall my sharing of my opinion concerning the "nature of violence and coercion" with you or the DPA community in any depth! Concerning "talking or doing" and may I add both talking and doing at the same time, I do not believe we have delved into this one either, never mind what might make things better or not.
I disagree with your last statement in that paragraph and your generalized statement that "the society that provided me with home has destroyed yours." And this remains my primary conflictual issue with you, your "blanket statements, judgements of others and generalizations" like you know what I think, where I came from and how I fell or arose from my ruins [errors] or rose from my experiences [wisdom] - lessons learned from my ancestors plus my accumulated lifelong [real] experiences.
I do not know about "Pamela Preston - experimenting" and your assertion she has "guinea pigs" is brazen and bold, and it certainly is curious that you deflect onto her and avoid answering my specific, direct questions to you concerning my being a part of any of your "experiments." Intuitively, I know you are engaged in some type of "lab" experiment, and most probably on this site, however, I do not know for sure for you deflect and avoid my direct inquiries. One of my ethical principles is I'm a stickler on "informed consent" which has been a bedrock in my service. So, Aleksandar, there we stay - stymied, out and totally lacking in trust, depth conversation [in my opinion], just skimming the superficial surfaces of your mental operations and thought-forms, games [that's how you come across to me]. Frustration and at times, I do not like your judgemental stances, use of defaming characterizations and generalizations - blown out into the wind, lacking substance, i.e. "idiots [in Utopia]."
Concerning your last statement concerning potential - potential for me is about "peak" experiences, and I am fortunate to have experienced the depths of them. My peak experiences have not been the result of any mental operations experiments. I joined and came to DPA to be real, share my experiences within the appropriate context, when able and it appears it may be helpful]; otherwise I am not here to "cloud" the field, rain on anyone's parade, walk in anyone's brain with my muddy shoes, so to speak.
This stance remains the guiding principle gleamed from the wisdom I humbly earned, learned and received from my teachers and experiences that arose out from my own depth experiences, no experiment.
I leave you with words that have comforted the dying I have served and my choice to hear and read stories alongside them [with their consent]. This comes from "Jonathan Livingstone Seagull by Richard Bach, pg.87:
"What are we trying to practice everyday? If our friendship depends on things like space and time, then when we finally overcome space and time, we've destroyed our own brotherhood! But overcome space, and all we have left is Here. Overcome time, and all we have left is Now. And in the middle of Here and Now, don't you think that we might see each other once or twice?
And I notice no one in DPA community [I have asked for help] has gone into "Utopia" yet to respond to your last post there. I am hopeful, patiently waiting and in the meantime shall leave it all there - dead in the water and in my opinion, in need of objective help, resuscitation from others.. Have a great day...Peace + Love Linda
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