There is perhaps no figure in literature more fascinating than the trickster, appearing in various forms in the folklore of many cultures. He is different from the figure of the fool, who is harmless but also naïve, and many times ends up harming himself. The fool walks joyfully dreaming about all his adventures, unaware thatContinue reading “The Psychology of The Trickster”
Author Archives: Eternalised
The Dark World of Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka is one of the major figures of 20th century literature who received little public attention during his lifetime. He dealt with existentialist themes such as alienation, anxiety, disorientation and the absurd. It is hard to put Kafka into a box. Many people have tried to read his work in the lens of psychoanalysis,Continue reading “The Dark World of Franz Kafka”
Inner Gold – Alchemy and Psychology
Alchemy occupies a unique place in the collective psyche of humankind. We have spent millennia transitioning from instinct to reason, the culmination of which lead to the Age of Enlightenment, a radical cultural shift. Our ancestors, however, lived by instinctual impulse, rather than logical reasoning. We did not think about our actions, we simply actedContinue reading “Inner Gold – Alchemy and Psychology”
The Psychology of Projection
Projection is a psychological fact that can be observed everywhere in the everyday life of human beings, whether you are having a conversation and someone tells you that you are projecting, or the first impressions you have of a particular person that turned out to be wrong. In our ideas of other people and situations,Continue reading “The Psychology of Projection”
Synchronicity: Meaningful Patterns in Life
“Never do human beings speculate more, or have more opinions, than about things which they do not understand.” Carl Jung, C.W. Vol. 14: Mysterium Coniunctionis From his childhood, Carl Jung experienced strange and seemingly unexplainable phenomena. He feared that he was going mad, and went on the quest to discover what they meant. “I sawContinue reading “Synchronicity: Meaningful Patterns in Life”
Active Imagination: Confrontation with the Unconscious
“My soul, my soul, where are you? Do you hear me? I speak, I call you – are you there? I have returned, I am here again. I have shaken the dust of all the lands from my feet, and I have come to you, I am with you. After long years of long wandering,Continue reading “Active Imagination: Confrontation with the Unconscious”
Owning Your Own Shadow: The Dark Side of the Psyche
“To honour and accept one’s own shadow is a profound spiritual discipline. It is whole-making and thus holy and the most important experience of a lifetime.” Robert A. Johnson, Owning Your Own Shadow Introduction Robert A. Johnson was an American author and Jungian analyst (a follower of Carl Jung’s analytical psychology). At the age ofContinue reading “Owning Your Own Shadow: The Dark Side of the Psyche”
The Otherworldly Art of William Blake
William Blake was an English poet and visionary artist born in 1757 whose unique work gives us a glimpse into an entirely different world. His art was ignored and neglected, and few people took his work seriously. He was generally seen as a madman. Today he is recognised as the most spiritual of artists, andContinue reading “The Otherworldly Art of William Blake”
The Dark Philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer was a German Philosopher born in 1788 who is known as the philosopher of pessimism. He is among the first thinkers to bring eastern philosophical ideas into western philosophy. Schopenhauer’s father was a wealthy merchant and his mother was a popular author and is among the first German women to publish books withoutContinue reading “The Dark Philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer”
Nihilism | Encounter with Nothingness
Nothingness is generally considered to be analogous with death and extinction which every healthy living instinct wants to avoid. Many find the notion of nothingness unfathomable. The following thinker, however, was convinced that the way out of nihilism, that which renders meaningless the meaning of life, could only be reached by gazing into the abyssContinue reading “Nihilism | Encounter with Nothingness”