Jung and Restless

By September 22, 2009Uncategorized


One cannot address the issue of stress without acknowledging the unconscious mind. After all, the unconscious mind comprises a great percentage of the total mind. One person who devoted his career to the study of the mind was Carl Gustav Jung. A protégé of Sigmund Freud, Jung eventually went his own way and developed a body of knowledge that has worked its way beautifully into the American vernacular: introvert, extrovert, synchronicity and archetypes are just a few of the terms the Jung coined in his study of the mind. Jung was a strong proponent of the message of dream symbols, and spent the majority of his career studying the dreams of his patients, as well as his own. He used the term “psychic equilibrium” to describe a process of learning the languages of the unconscious mind, in this case, the language of dream symbols, to ease one’s level of anxiety. Given the amount of stress people exhibit today, it’s a good practice to follow.

• Stress Tip for the Day:
Many people, if they can remember their dreams, think they make no sense. From a conscious perspective, this may seem to be true, but from a perspective of the whole mind, nothing could be further from the truth. So…take note of your dreams. Pay attention to the fragments of dream images each morning (perhaps even write them down) and then take the time to decode the message of these symbolic images. The unconscious mind speaks in colors, symbols, myths and stories, rather than words and sentences. Take the time to find and master your psychic equilibrium!

• Links Worth Noting:
This link (below) will take you to a recent online article about a book (the Red Book) that Carl Jung worked on throughout his whole life. In it contains many illustrations of his own dream images and personal reflections. He asked that it not be opened for study until 100 years after his death. He died in 1961, yet many now are hoping to take a peek inside to see what it has to offer on one of the greatest minds of the 20th century.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/magazine/20jung-t.html?_r=1

• Photo of the Day:
A photo (from his renowned book, Man and his Symbols) of Carl G. Jung in his study of his home in Switzerland.
• Quote for the Day:
“Man rejects that which he does not understand.” — Carl G. Jung
Brian Luke Seaward, Ph.D. is an internationally renowned expert in the fields of stress management, mind-body-spirit healing and stress and human spirituality. He is the author of over 10 books including the bestsellers, Stand Like Mountain, Flow Like Water, Stressed Is Desserts Spelled Backward, The Art of Calm, Quiet Mind, Fearless Heart and Managing Stress (6E). He can be reached through his website:www.brianlukeseaward.net
© Brian Luke Seaward, Ph.D.

Brian Luke Seaward

Author Brian Luke Seaward

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