Holding the Tension

Holding the tension 6

I’m doing a course in Jungian Studies at the moment and a theme that came up several times this week was Jung’s concept of the “transcendent function”.  Essentially this is something (anything) that emerges from a  tension between opposites.  In Jungian theory this is generally a tension that is fundamentally between the ego and the unconscious.   Most of us would experience it as a state of stuckness, like depression.   We would probably identify it consciously as a practical situation like a decision that is proving impossible to make, or we might become aware of it as an emotional situation where different needs or desires [...] Read more »

Direct Dream Guidance

Trickster juggler

I had a dream the other night which seemed to give me a direct instruction.  It is tempting to take such messages very literally and act on them but caution should be used. If we have been working with our dreams for a while it is likely we have developed some degree of self-knowledge.  This means that we have a more conscious relationship with our inner world and it is then easier to evaluate anything that seems like a direct instruction.  But beware, the dream creator in the unconscious can sometimes be a bit of a trickster! The dream I had [...] Read more »

Brave Art

Wilma's Snout

  I follow Jennifer Louden’s blog and subscribed to recieve seven questions for pondering over the festive break.  The last one was today (all seven can be found on the Week of Inward Looking facebook page).  Of course, it made me think . . . and what I thought about was the fact that I haven’t been brave enough about my art!  Not the art I spoke about in a previous post, you know, my painting and drawing – but the art of dreamwork.  Specifically I thought about running some more classes and introductory workshops for the coming year and paying more [...] Read more »

Dreaming for 2012!

IMG_0713

With the New Year imminent our thoughts turn to what it might hold.  As the old year wanes, we are likely to evaluate what we’d like less of and what we’d like more of in the upcoming year (usually focused on what we don’t want!).  Mostly we tend to think in linear, rational ways about it which can be a bit limiting – so what better way to discover our deeper desires than to incubate a dream for 2012! Here are some steps to incubating for 2012: Drag out your journal before bed and spend a little time reflecting on [...] Read more »

The Cast of Thousands

bigilittlipicture4

On a training course in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy back in the early nineties I was introduced to this diagram.  I know it as Big “I”, Little “I”,   I’m not sure who the originator of this diagram was (and I apologise to him/her for not being able to attribute this) but it has been a very useful concept to me.  In CBT it is used to help us understand that we are more than the sum of our parts (Big “I”) and that our parts (the Little “I”s ) are many, varied and contradictory. As human beings we each have the [...] Read more »

“Know Thyself”

Statue of the annunciation web size

This beautiful sculpture by Josef Pyrz is called Statue of the Annunciation and is is in the Galilee Chapel of Durham Cathedral, UK.  A postcard of it was on the floor in my office this morning and as I looked at it, it made me think about being reflective and tuning into my inner world.  To me the statue looks like a person who has paused to listen in.  My dreams help me listen in, especially when I’m more inclined to be caught in my outer life, being the person I think I should be rather than who I truly [...] Read more »

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