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Ego-dissolution
Ego death is a "complete loss of subjective self-identity". The term is used in various intertwined contexts, with related meanings. The 19th-century philosopher and psychologist William James uses the synonymous term "self-surrender", and Jungian psychology uses the synonymous term psychic death, referring to a fundamental transformation of the psyche. In death and rebirth mythology, ego death is a phase of self-surrender and transition, as described later by Joseph Campbell in his research on the mythology of the Hero's Journey. It is a recurrent theme in world mythology and is also used as a metaphor in some strands of contemporary western thinking. In descriptions of drugs, the term is used synonymously with ego-loss to refer to (temporary) loss of one's sense of self due to the use of drugs. The term was used as such by Timothy Leary ''et al.'' to describe the death of the ego in the first phase of an LSD trip, in which a "complete transcendence" of the self occurs. The con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William James
William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher and psychologist. The first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States, he is considered to be one of the leading thinkers of the late 19th century, one of the most influential philosophers and is often dubbed the "father of American psychology." Born into a wealthy family, James was the son of the Swedenborgian theologian Henry James Sr. and the brother of both the prominent novelist Henry James and the diarist Alice James. James trained as a physician and taught anatomy at Harvard, but never practiced medicine. Instead, he pursued his interests in psychology and then philosophy. He wrote widely on many topics, including epistemology, education, metaphysics, psychology, religion, and mysticism. Among his most influential books are '' The Principles of Psychology'', a groundbreaking text in the field of psychology; '' Essays in Radical Empiricism'', an important text in phil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comparative Mythology
Comparative mythology is the comparison of myths from different cultures in an attempt to identify shared themes and characteristics.Littleton, p. 32 Comparative mythology has served a variety of academic purposes. For example, scholars have used the relationships between different myths to trace the development of religions and cultures, to propose common origins for myths from different cultures, and to support various psychoanalytical theories. The comparative study of mythologies reveals the trans-national motifs that unify spiritual understanding globally. The significance of this study generates a "broad, sympathetic understanding of these 'stories' in human history". The similarities of myths remind humanity of the universality in the human experience. Background Anthropologist C. Scott Littleton defined comparative mythology as "the systematic comparison of myths and mythic themes drawn from a wide variety of cultures". By comparing different cultures' mythologies, scho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Of The Cross
St. John of the Cross (; ; né Juan de Yepes y Álvarez; 24 June 1542 – 14 December 1591) was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest, mystic, and Carmelite friar of ''Converso'' ancestry. He is a major figure of the Counter-Reformation in Spain, and he is one of the 37 Doctors of the Church. John of the Cross is known for his writings. He was mentored by and corresponded with the older Carmelite nun Teresa of Ávila. Both his poetry and his studies on the development of the soul, particularly his '' Noche Obscura'', are considered the summit of mystical Christian literature and among the greatest works of all Spanish literature. He was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726. In 1926, he was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XI, and is also known as the "mystical doctor". Life Early life and education He was born Juan de Yepes y Álvarez at Fontiveros, Old Castile, into a "New Christian" family of ''Converso'' origins (descendants of Iberian Jewish converts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transference
Transference () is a phenomenon within psychotherapy in which repetitions of old feelings, attitudes, desires, or fantasies that someone displaces are subconsciously projected onto a here-and-now person. Traditionally, it had solely concerned feelings from a primary relationship during childhood. History Transference was first described by Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, who considered it an important part of psychoanalytic treatment. Transference of this kind can be considered inappropriate without proper clinical supervision. Occurrence It is common for people to transfer feelings about their parents to their partners or children (that is, cross-generational entanglements). Other examples of transference would be a person mistrusting somebody who resembles an ex-spouse in manners, voice, or external appearance, or being overly compliant to someone who resembles a childhood friend. In ''The Psychology of the Transference'', Carl Jung states that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Individuation
The principle of individuation, or ', describes the manner in which a thing is identified as distinct from other things. The concept appears in numerous fields and is encountered in works of Leibniz, Carl Jung, Gunther Anders, Gilbert Simondon, Bernard Stiegler, Friedrich Nietzsche, Arthur Schopenhauer, David Bohm, Henri Bergson, Gilles Deleuze, and Manuel DeLanda. Usage The word ''individuation'' occurs with different meanings and connotations in different fields. In philosophy Philosophically, "individuation" expresses the general idea of how a thing is identified as an individual thing that "is not something else". This includes how an individual person is held to be different from other elements in the world and how a person is distinct from other persons. By the seventeenth century, philosophers began to associate the question of individuation or what brings about individuality at any one time with the question of identity or what constitutes sameness at different p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alchemy
Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first attested in a number of pseudepigraphical texts written in Greco-Roman Egypt during the first few centuries AD.. Greek-speaking alchemists often referred to their craft as "the Art" (τέχνη) or "Knowledge" (ἐπιστήμη), and it was often characterised as mystic (μυστική), sacred (ἱɛρά), or divine (θɛíα). Alchemists attempted to purify, mature, and perfect certain materials. Common aims were chrysopoeia, the transmutation of " base metals" (e.g., lead) into "noble metals" (particularly gold); the creation of an elixir of immortality; and the creation of panaceas able to cure any disease. The perfection of the human body and soul was thought to result from the alchemical ''magnum opus'' ("Great Work"). The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Self In Jungian Psychology
The Self in Jungian psychology is a dynamic concept which has undergone numerous modifications since it was first conceptualised as one of the ''Jungian archetypes''. Historically, the Self, according to Carl Jung, signifies the unification of consciousness and unconsciousness in a person, and representing the psyche as a whole. It is realized as the product of individuation, which in his view is the process of integrating various aspects of one's personality. For Jung, the Self is an encompassing whole which acts as a container. It could be symbolized by a circle, a square, or a mandala. Two center hypothesis The idea that there are two centers of the personality distinguished Jungian psychology at one time. The ego has been seen as the center of consciousness, whereas the Self is defined as the center of the total personality, which includes consciousness, the unconscious, and the ego; the Self is both the whole and the center. While the ego is a self-contained center of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poul Bjerre
Poul Carl Bjerre (24 May 1876 – 15 July 1964) was a Swedish psychiatrist who was a native of Gothenburg. In 1907 he succeeded hypnotist Otto Georg Wetterstrand (1845–1907) at the latter's medical practice in Stockholm. He was the brother of Andreas Bjerre. Bjerre is credited for introducing psychoanalysis and Freud, Freudian psychiatric concepts into Swedish medicine, which he presented to a 1911 gathering of the "Order of Swedish Physicians". He would later distance himself from a number of Freudian ideas. Bjerre believed that the workings of the conscious mind were more important than those of the unconscious mind, unconscious, and felt that Freud placed too much emphasis on an individual's sex life. He believed that it was important for the psychiatrist to "be human", and to view and treat his patient in an holistic manner. Bjerre was also a major advocate of hypnosis. Among his written works was an influential book which theorized on the recurring cycle of "psychic death a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psychology And Alchemy
''Psychology and Alchemy'', volume 12 in '' The Collected Works of C. G. Jung'', is Carl Jung's study of the analogies between alchemy, Christian dogma, and psychological symbolism. Alchemy is central to Jung's hypothesis of the collective unconscious. This book begins with an outline of the process and aims of psychotherapy as seen by Jung. It then moves on to work out the analogies mentioned above and his own understanding of the analytic process. Jung reminds us of the dual nature of alchemy, comprising both the chemical process and a parallel mystical component. He also discusses the seemingly deliberate mystification of the alchemists. Finally, in using the alchemical process to provide insights into individuation, Jung emphasises the importance of alchemy in relating to us the transcendent nature of the psyche. In Psychology and Alchemy, Jung makes the case that the philosopher's stone is a latent reality that exists within the self rather than an external object, and th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archetypes And The Collective Unconscious
''The Collected Works of C. G. Jung'' () is a book series containing the first collected edition, in English translation, of the major writings of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung. The twenty volumes, including a Bibliography and a General Index, were translated from the original German by R.F.C. Hull, under the editorship of Sir Herbert Read, Michael Fordham and Gerhard Adler. The works consist of published volumes, essays, lectures, letters, and a dissertation written by Jung from 1902 until his death in 1961. The compilation by the editors dates from 1945 onward. The series contains revised versions of works previously published, works not previously translated, and new translations of many of Jung's writings. Several of the volumes are extensively illustrated; each contains an index and most contain a bibliography. Until his death, Jung supervised the revisions of the text, some of which were extensive. A body of Jung's work still remains unpublished. Princeton Univers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marguerite Porete
Marguerite Porete (; 13th century1 June 1310) was a Beguine, a French-speaking mystic and the author of '' The Mirror of Simple Souls'', a work of Christian mysticism dealing with the workings of agape (divine love). She was burnt at the stake for heresy in Paris in 1310 after a lengthy trial for refusing to remove her book from circulation or to recant her views. Today, Porete's work has been of interest to a diverse number of scholars. Those interested in medieval mysticism, more specifically Beguine mystical writing, cite ''The Mirror of Simple Souls'' in their studies.Babinksky 1993, p. 5 The book is also seen as a primary text regarding the medieval Heresy of the Free Spirit. Study of Eckhart has shown a similarity between his and Porete's ideas about union with God. Porete has also been of interest to those studying medieval women's writing. Life Porete's life is recorded only in the accounts of her Inquisition trial for heresy at which she was condemned to be burnt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Teresa Of Ávila
Teresa of Ávila (born Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda Dávila y Ahumada; 28March 15154or 15October 1582), also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, was a Carmelite nun and prominent Spanish mystic and religious reformer. Active during the Counter-Reformation, Teresa became the central figure of a movement of spiritual and monastic renewal, reforming the Carmelite Orders of both women and men. The movement was later joined by the younger Carmelite friar and mystic Saint John of the Cross, with whom she established the Discalced Carmelites. A formal papal decree adopting the split from the old order was issued in 1580. Her autobiography, ''The Life of Teresa of Jesus'', and her books '' The Interior Castle'' and '' The Way of Perfection'' are prominent works on Christian mysticism and Christian meditation practice. In her autobiography, written as a defense of her ecstatic mystical experiences, she discerns four stages in the ascent of the soul to God: mental prayer and meditati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
