• Home

Soul Journey

A Jungian Journey into Soul

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« Irreducible Rascality
Esalen Workshop »

Irreducible Rascals II

March 25, 2011 by jeffreykiehl

“When I was a graduate student in Germany – this was in 1928-1929 – I discovered the works of Freud and Jung, which opened up a psychological dimension to the field of mythology. … Jung became more and more eloquent to me. I think the longer you live, the more Jung can say to you. … Jung gives us clues as to how to let the myth talk to us in its own terms, without putting a formula on it. … [In 1953] Jean and I had tea with Jung and his wife at Bollingen … He was a very big man, and my wife tells me that his eyes were very attractive.”

Joseph Campbell in An Open Life

The second person who has had a deep influence on my life is the mythologist Joseph Campbell. He was a rascal in the way he used myths to get us to question our beliefs. He encouraged us to follow our bliss, knowing the challenges this would bring up within us. He was both charmer and gentleman. He was a man filled with immense knowledge, which he obtained through a self imposed retreat to Woodstock, New York where he  filled the hours with intense reading. He once said that his form of meditation was underlining. Campbell was far more interested in the similarities among myths than the dissimilarities. Through his research in comparative mythology he formulated the concept of the monomyth of the hero’s journey. This archetypal pattern is found within many cultures around the world. It describes the pattern of coming to grips with living an engaged life. He felt that through this journey we bring meaning into our lives.

A sample of Campbell’s rich knowledge and style as storyteller can be found here:

I discovered Campbell’s writings only after he had passed away. After watching the PBS series Power of Myth I started to read Campbell. I wonder what effect his writings would have had on the direction of my life had I discovered him earlier in my life? I did not so much read his books as devour them. As soon as I finished one, I would run out and buy another. His ability to trace many of the foundational images of the Judeo-Christian belief system to its more ancient roots in Egyptian and Mesopotamian cultures was a revelation to me. His description of the myths of indigenous cultures awakened me to the deep seated wisdom that has existed from the dawn of human beginnings.

It was in the midst of reading Campbell’s works that I kept coming across the name of Carl Jung. I knew who Jung was, but had  paid little attention to him. The more I read of Campbell’s works, the more I realized that I needed to find out what Jung was saying. At the time, I was living in England. I remember walking down to the local bookstore to buy something of Jung’s. I found a copy of his work on the archetypes of the collective unconscious, i.e. volume 9i. It is difficult to describe in words what I experienced when I began reading this work. After reading the first page, I knew I had discovered a remarkable and invaluable treasure. What grabbed me was Jung’s appreciation of the shadow and how our suffering was a source of transformation. Well, that was all it took… I could not stop reading Jung, and I could not hold back from getting myself into analysis. So, I am very thankful to Joseph Campbell for leading me to Carl Jung. It is no exaggeration to state that he saved my life.

“Follow your bliss. If you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while waiting for you … When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss, and they open the doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.”

Joseph Campbell

Share this:

  • Share
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Carl Jung, Hero's Journey, Joseph Campbell, mythology | 1 Comment

One Response

  1. on March 25, 2011 at 5:50 pm Mark Winborn

    Hi Jeff,

    Very nice blog you’ve created here. I’m enjoying reading about your influences and how they’ve impacted you. It’s always interesting hearing people unpack how they’ve come to be.

    Best,

    Mark



Comments are closed.

  • Jeffrey Kiehl

  • Archives

    • January 2018
    • March 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • September 2016
    • July 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • November 2015
    • January 2015
    • June 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • December 2013
    • November 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • March 2013
    • February 2013
    • January 2013
    • December 2012
    • November 2012
    • October 2012
    • September 2012
    • August 2012
    • February 2012
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • July 2011
    • May 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
    • December 2010
  • March 2011
    M T W T F S S
     123456
    78910111213
    14151617181920
    21222324252627
    28293031  
    « Feb   May »
  • Blog Stats

    • 17,651 hits
  • Uncategorized
  • Categories

    • Uncategorized
  • Blogroll

    • Discuss
    • Get Inspired
    • Get Polling
    • Get Support
    • Learn WordPress.com
    • WordPress Planet
    • WordPress.com News
  • Twitter Updates

    • I will be speaking this Friday, via Zoom, on the myth of Prometheus and how it relates to our current global crise… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 9 months ago
    • @catswx @weatherczar It was great working on this paper with my colleagues @catswx and @weatherczar A very nice way… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 1 year ago
    • RT @catswx: Tropical cyclones in the #PETM: turns out dynamics are important! #paleotempestology. Loved working on this project led by @jtk… 1 year ago
    • RT @sustain_agenda: I am thrilled to post new #podcast episode -- fascinating interview with Dr Jeffrey Kiehl @jtkiehl discussing his work… 1 year ago
    • RT @catswx: Shout out to Will Rush @ucsc for leading this fun paper looking at #PETM #extremeprecipitation! High resolution #CESM model da… 1 year ago
  • Top Posts & Pages

    • Psyche & Climate at Schumacher College
    • C.G. Jung Psychology & Spirituality Conference
    • Earth, Climate, Dreams Symposium
    • Looking for Caesar
    • Climate Change Messaging Forum November 2nd
    • Interview for Speaking of Jung
    • Book Signing at the Trident
    • The Dance of Science & Art
    • The Care of Nature
    • A Depth Psychology Exploration of Climate Change
  • Top Clicks

    • None
  • Recent Posts

    • Psyche & Climate at Schumacher College
    • C.G. Jung Psychology & Spirituality Conference
    • Earth, Climate, Dreams Symposium
    • Looking for Caesar
    • Climate Change Messaging Forum November 2nd

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Soul Journey
    • Join 288 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Soul Journey
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: