Whenever a group, society or nation strongly believes in its own moral righteousness, superiority or entitlement, the collective shadow is present. Shadow traits, usually undesirable ones, based upon race, culture, politics, religion or other qualities are disowned by a collective mass of one group and are placed onto another group or population. This communal phenomenon […]
Evil Shows in Times of War
We often watch in horror and disbelief the media reports of human atrocities, violence and war. However, evil is a very real part of the human psyche. Concerning evil in the context of war, Thich Nhat Hanh said, “Evil exists. God exists also. Evil and God are two sides of ourselves.” We carry within ourselves […]
What Lurks in Your Shadow?
James Hollis recounted a story of a man searching frantically for his lost keys under the light of a lamppost. A passerby attempted to help by asking, “Is this where you dropped them?” The searching man replied, “No, I lost them in the dark, but this is the only place where the light is.” What […]
We are Complex in Many Ways
In many myths, a dark destructive force, whether Zeus or the Devil, often appears in an ambush-like manner, thwarting the hero’s best intentions. This negating, often judging and disdainful force causes chaos, often stunning the hero into a disheartened place. Psychologically, this destructive force is called a complex. Complexes are deeply rooted in us and […]
The Healing Function of Psyche
As we watch television, we are bombarded with advertisements that claim to cure such ailments as anxiety, sleeplessness and depression. At times, we may opt for pain-relief medication to aid a headache. What are we really trying to cure? From a medical perspective, to cure means that a patient no longer has the ailment. On […]
Journeying through Life
Friedrich Nietzsche put forth a wonderful scenario: “What if a demon were to creep after you one night and say, ‘This life which you live must be lived by you once again and innumerable times more; and every pain and joy and thought and sigh must come again to you, all in the same sequence.” […]
