The Odyssey: A Jungian Journey Home

The Odyssey (the subject of a new Christopher Nolan film released on the same day as this episode), is the ancient Greek epic attributed to Homer and one of the foundational works of Western literature. This week, Jungian analyst ROBERT SHEAVLY joins Lisa Marchiano and Deborah Stewart for a Jungian exploration of The Odyssey.

For Jungians, the Odyssey models a process of returning to the Self, offering a psychological map for the second half of life and the path to individuation. It asks us to engage with the profound question, what does it mean to come home to ourselves?

Odysseus, our wily trickster hero, encounters gods, enchantresses and shadowy monsters with a relatable mix of hubris and cunning. We can view these figures as aspects of psyche, with the story showing us how we might create a relationship with something larger. As we grow and mature into midlife, we move away from an ego-centered existence, and begin a new confrontation with the Self.

By the journey’s end, we may wind up dressed in rags and shorn of our heroic trappings, but what remains is something deeper: a more authentic relationship to the soul, and a growing readiness for life's final adventure, our encounter with mortality.

Visit our website to read today’s dream, get more detail on our discussion of The Odyssey, and to follow up on the resources we mention in the episode: https://thisjungianlife.com/odyssey/

Connect With This Jungian Life

Download our free ⁠Dream Recall Meditation Guide⁠

⁠Send a dream⁠ for us to analyze on the show

Take a look at ⁠This Jungian Life Dream School⁠, our online course in Jungian dream analysis.

Follow This Jungian Life on ⁠Instagram

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(445)

In Search of the Wild Man: Befriending Bigfoot

The wild man is an enduring archetypal figure worldwide, from Enkidu in Gilgamesh, to the Greek god Pan (worshipped in glens and woods), the Green Man in England, and Bigfoot and the Sasquatch in the ...

13 Aug 1h 28min

Jung vs. Borg: Staying Human in the Age of AI

Are we living through a tech-driven collapse of the ecology of mind? In his new book, Jung vs. Borg, author, psychologist and Jungian scholar GLEN SLATER Ph.D suggests that industrial disruption of th...

6 Aug 1h 41min

Ritual: Finding the Center in a Turning World

As we confront the turbulence of rapid change, technological dehumanization, and cultural polarization, how do we reconnect to being and meaning? Best-selling author BRUCE FEILER returns us to ritual:...

30 Juli 1h 10min

Carl Jung in Basel: A Walking Tour

Happy Birthday to Carl Gustav Jung! To celebrate, we're sharing Lisa's walking tour of Basel with Jungian Analyst and author Kathrin Shaeppi. Last year, she visited Jung's hometown in Basel, Switzerla...

26 Juli 1h 43min

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: Power Without Wisdom

The tale of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice is a gripping story about loss of control and the timeless warning to be careful what you wish for. It sets out the archetypal theme of a magical shortcut that p...

23 Juli 1h 4min

Prayer and the Psyche: A Jungian Exploration

Throughout human history, prayer has been a constant. Jung referred to it as “not only one of the most original but also the most frequent means to change the condition of mind”.This week Jungian anal...

9 Juli 1h 2min

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Individuation: A Jungian Reading of the Declaration of Independence

America’s Declaration of Independence has profoundly influenced the development of democracy and democratic movements all over the world, with its bold assertion:“We hold these truths to be self-evide...

2 Juli 56min