Digital Jung
Living a Symbolic Life in a Technological Age. Our digital age presents unique challenges for the practice of the inner life. What can the insights of Jungian Psychology offer for dealing with these challenges? In this series, we explore Carl Jung's idea of "the symbolic life" through the lenses of depth psychology, mythology, fairy tales, poetry, religion, and more. We focus on three core questions: 1. What is the symbolic life? 2. Why do we need a symbolic life? and 3. How can we cultivate and live a symbolic life? This is a companion podcast to the book 'Religious but Not Religious: Living a Symbolic Life' by Jungian analyst Jason E. Smith.
Episodes
81 episodes
The Call of the Shoreless Sea
In this episode:I explore one of the more challenging aspects of the symbolic life: the call to leave behind the comfort of the known, the safe, and the familiar.Sources for quotes and more:'Moby-Dick' by He...
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Season 4
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Episode 5
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31:58
Healing the Splintered Heart
In this episode:I discuss the psychic split brought on by the experience of the modern world and the need for a connection with the soul and the mythic dimension of life.Sources for quotes and more:'Moby-Di...
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Season 4
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Episode 4
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33:49
Tending the Spiritual Imagination
In this episode:I explore the role of suffering and darkness as factors that awaken us to the need for what Jung calls a religious outlook. We look at ways that we can cultivate that outlook in an authentic way.Sources for...
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Season 4
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Episode 3
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30:09
Outcasts of the Spirit
In this episode:I examine the figure of Ishmael from Moby-Dick as a symbol of the human experience of alienation. I explore the question of how this experience comes about and what we can do to respond to it.Sources for qu...
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Season 4
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Episode 2
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30:31
Unfathomable Depths: Jung Aboard the Pequod
In this episode:I introduce the theme for this fourth season: Jung Aboard the Pequod -- a Jungian appreciation of Moby-Dick. I then explore the need for stories that are expansive enough to meet the call for meaning and purpose.<...
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Season 4
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Episode 1
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30:30
In Search of a Song: Season 4 Announcement
In this episode:The podcast returns after an extended hiatus to begin a new season.Connect with me:Instagram(@digital.jung)
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Season 4
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17:51
The Goal of the Symbolic Life
In this episode:I conclude this series on the fairytale The Iron Stove with a discussion of just what constitutes the goal of the symbolic life.Let's make this a conversation:Do you have a comment or ...
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Season 3
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Episode 17
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35:55
Embodying the Spirit
In this episode:In this third part of my series on the fairytale The Iron Stove, I explore the importance of bringing together the mind and the body in the work of the symbolic life.Let's make this a conversation:<...
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Season 3
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Episode 16
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25:38
Resisting Change
In this episode:I continue to explore the riches of the fairytale The Iron Stove, this time looking at the ways we resist the necessity of change in our lives.Let's make this a conversation:Do you have a co...
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Season 3
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Episode 15
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32:56
The Life of the Spirit
In this episode:I begin an exploration of the fairytale 'The Iron Stove' and explore what it means to be called beyond the limitations of the ego to an experience of the spirit.Let's make this a conversation:Do you ...
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Season 3
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Episode 14
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27:06
When the Soul Retreats
In this episode:I look at one of the more difficult experiences of the symbolic life, an experience best known by its religious name: the "dark night of the soul."Let's make this a conversation:Do you have a comment...
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Season 3
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Episode 13
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30:08
Healing and the Unconscious
In this episode:I explore Jung’s concept of the unconscious — what it is, how it is experienced, and what it suggests about the idea of healing in analysis.Let's make this a conversation:Do you have a comment or&nbs...
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Season 3
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Episode 12
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27:46
The Philosophers' Stone: Solid Ground of Wisdom
In this episode:I conclude this series on the symbolism of alchemy by looking at the all-important image of the goal of the alchemical opus: The Philosophers’ Stone.Let's make this a conversation:Do you hav...
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Season 3
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Episode 11
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28:10
The Stages of the Alchemical Opus
In this episode:I continue with the third part of a four-part series on alchemy, this time looking at the stages of the alchemical opus and their meaning for the work of the symbolic life.Let's make this a conversa...
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Season 3
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Episode 10
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29:24
The Heart of the Matter: Alchemy and the Prima Materia
In this episode:I continue with the second part of a four-part series on alchemy, looking at the symbol and the psychological meaning of what the alchemists called the prima materia.Let's make this a conversation:<...
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Season 3
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Episode 9
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30:43
Alchemy: Mirror of the Soul
In this episode:I begin a series on the strange world of alchemy — exploring what it is and how it is relevant to the practice of the symbolic life.Let's make this a conversation:Do you have a comment or quest...
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Season 3
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Episode 8
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28:21
Bonus Episode: A Christmas Card
In this episode:An audio Christmas card from me to you.Let's make this a conversation:Do you have a comment or question about this episode, or about something you would like me to address in a future episode? ...
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Season 3
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Episode 7
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15:29
Learning To Say 'Yes'
In this episode:I discuss how times of struggle, and even suffering, can open us up to an experience that Jung calls “an affirmation of things as they are.”Let's make this a conversation:Do you have a comment or&nbs...
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Season 3
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Episode 6
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27:19
Learning To Say 'No'
In this episode:I explore the idea of everyday asceticism, the art of setting limits for ourselves in order to stand more firmly and authentically in our lives. Let's make this a conversation:Do you have a comm...
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Season 3
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Episode 5
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29:54
Imagining Our Proper Life-Task
In this episode:I discuss the idea of vocation -- what Jung calls “our proper life-task” -- and explore the challenges that come with taking up such a task in our own lives.Let's make this a conversation:Do you have...
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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29:47
Receiving One's True Name
In this episode:We explore the symbolism of “one’s true name” and the challenges that we meet in learning how to hear it.Let's make this a conversation:Do you have a comment or question about this episode, or ...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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29:03
The Temptation of Inflation
In this episode:We discuss one of the dangers inherent in the symbolic life — the ever-present specter of inflation.Let's make this a conversation:Do you have a comment or question about this episode, or about...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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28:50
Invoking the Imagination
In this episode:We look at the question of how to begin -- that is, what preparations are needed to begin the work of the symbolic life?Let's make this a conversation:Do you have a comment or question about th...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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27:45
