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NIGHTMARES: How can I stop awful dreams?
Our dreams are always trying to correct our waking personality. They are a kind of psychospiritual medicine tailored just for us. When we avoid healing advice from the dream maker, pressure builds in our unconscious. Gentle suggestions become urgent pleas, which over time become fierce demands that insist on recognition. Once we recognize we are running away from essential insights, we can turn around and embrace them.
DO WE INHERIT OUR PARENT’S FEARS?
VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOlApKV-wnw Art Credit: Jano Tantongco, jano.tantongco@gmail.com AUDIO What wisdom do fairy tales hold about childrearing in our modern world? Briar Rose is the foundation for the familiar fairytale Sleeping Beauty. It addresses...
DUMBO’S FEATHER: Are there hidden messages in Disney cartoons?
The feather in “Dumbo” holds symbolic magic. Holding it tight, he leaps from dependency to loss, then audacious growth. He must believe the feather holds power before placing it in himself. We all need symbolic objects or talismans to project our potential onto. How else could we find it?
Aaron Balick – Why does social media weaponize our reactions?
Reactivity often usurps reflective response, with social media fueling instantaneous, reflexive reactions. This hampers thoughtful decision-making and obscures the other party’s perspective, trapping discourse within a reactive cycle. Emotional reactivity, a necessary short-term survival mechanism, can become a long-term maladaptive response, leading to perpetual defense rather than constructive dialogue. Such sustained reactivity is evident in the widespread use of social media, where the nuanced, truth-seeking aspects of communication are eclipsed by the platform’s inherent design that favors sensationalism and emotional contagion. This environment diminishes the capacity for mutual understanding and comprehensive evaluation of complex social issues, fostering a climate where binary thinking and polarization thrive.
FAME: Why Do We Create Icons Only to Destroy Them?
Fame tempts the ego to claim what does not belong to it, and the person may become identified with his or her role, especially as others have an urge to find a hero, wise man, leader, or transcendent figure. Jung wrote about the mana personality—a larger-than-life person with charismatic power and energy. Magicians and priests, infused with special knowledge and god-like capabilities, are emblematic of mana personalities. Followers are then imbued with the mana person’s special qualities, as we see in audience reactions at concerts or rallies.
JUNG’S PARANORMAL ENCOUNTERS: Why did strange events follow him?
Many of us have uncanny coincidences like thinking of a friend at the exact moment they ring us on the phone, but what about physical things breaking apart for no reason or luminous apparitions at our bedside? We often explain them away to reduce our anxiety, but Jung found them fascinating. He maintained a scientific attitude while accepting strange phenomena he could not explain. Eventually, he created a psychology of radical acceptance that creates space for the unexpected, including each person’s unique soul.
LOW ENERGY: Where can we source the drive to take action?
Many people just can’t rally to do what’s necessary and improve their lives. Is it possible they just don’t carry much vitality or is some inner conflict blocking their access? We share personal stories of ‘energy loss,’ and offer insights into purposelessness. Jung tells us inner energy flows according to its own laws but if we can’t harness it?
REUNIONS: Is there value in remembering our younger selves?
We organize reunions because we yearn to reconnect with old friends, recall shared experiences, and reignite a sense of community. We all need meaningful social contact and enjoy nostalgia. While coming together can feel alluring, actually attending the event may evoke a spectrum of ambivalent feelings. We’re likely to feel judged for our achievements, appearance, or socioeconomic status, especially compared to our peers. Transitioning into adulthood is often tumultuous, marked by intense negative experiences, and revisiting those periods can be daunting. Attending reunions can inadvertently reactivate traumatic memories, making the decision to participate a delicate one for many of us. Seeing a former bully or revisiting a dorm can bring back the anxiety, fear, loneliness, or sadness of those formative years. We might even find ourselves sweating or feeling trapped. Recognizing and validating our fears is crucial.
