“As we peel away the layers one by one, we move closer to our true essence. Purity. Every removed layer reveals sadness, dissatisfaction, and resentment. The process is not easy, and most people unconsciously feel a strong resistance. Through cynicism, hatred, contempt, or mockery, they deny the need for true inner conscious work and refuse […]
On the path from “self-actualization to self-transcendence,” there is a very specific danger—in Maslow’s humanistic psychology, it is called “higher sidetracking.” Here is its description by Howard Sasportas in the book The Dynamics of the Unconscious: “Some people associate feelings like joy, bliss, or universal love with the Higher Self. But the perception of the […]
This is a continuation of the previous post, “Containing by Restraining,” which introduced the work with the fire element in our psyche—passion and desire. Its purpose is to present the perspective of analytical psychology regarding experiences we all know to some degree: abandonment and rejection in love. This allows us to see the meaning of […]
What should we do when the emotions of anger are too strong? When neither the appropriate release techniques nor communication skills seem to help us diffuse their explosive energy? There is a third perspective for dealing not only with anger but with all intense emotions. It is called “containing by holding”: “I think the problem, […]
This is a continuation of the theme of the two truths from the previous article, “Depression and the Truth of the Body.” It begins with an excerpt from Nikos Kazantzakis’s Zorba the Greek, which Petya sent me and which beautifully illustrates what the union of these two truths looks like. “*I stretched out in my […]
“*Depression is the truth of the body, just as meaningfulness is the truth of the spirit. The one does not exclude the other. It seems as though life, like Janus, has two faces. There is truth in spiritual beliefs and disciplines. I do not claim there is none. But there is also truth in […]
Below is the response Osho gave to someone who shared that they were suffering incredibly from loneliness and asked what they could do about it. Since it is relatively long, I have translated it with some abridgments. To read the full text in English, I have provided a link at the end of the post. […]
The Depressive State Is Necessary for the Creation of Individuality Here are a few more clarifications about the place of depression in our psychic life and spiritual development, and how to “use” it properly. They are especially valuable for people who have noticed that in their lives they often swing between extremes. At one moment […]
“Darkness has its correspondence in the alchemical nigredo, which comes after the coniunctio, when the feminine has accepted the masculine within itself. From the nigredo arises the stone, the symbol of the immortal Self.”— C. G. Jung To one degree or another, and in one form or another, all of us go through depressive moods […]
“At origin aggressiveness is almost synonymous with activity.” — D.W. Winnicott This quote opens the chapter “The Astrology of Aggression” by Howard Sasportas in the book The Dynamics of the Unconscious. In it, the author reveals through astrological examples how the aggressive impulse is naturally embedded within us (the energy of the planet Mars) and […]
This is a story from the Vedas, retold in the book “The Dynamics of the Unconscious” by Howard Sasportas and Liz Greene—leading authors in the psychological branch of astrology. “There was once a serpent that struck terror into a village. It bit and killed people. A sage arrived there, preaching his philosophy of love and […]
“The whole universe is contained within a single human being—you. Everything that you see around you, including the things you might not love and even the people you despise and loathe, is present within you to some degree or another. Therefore, do not look for the Devil outside yourself. The Devil is not some supernatural […]
