Advent and Psychic Birth - An Introduction

From Advent and Psychic Birth by Mariann Burke

Meister Eckhart in a Christmas sermon paraphrasing St. Augustine says of Christ's birth, "This birth is always happening. And yet, if it does not occur in me, how could it help me? Everything depends on that."(1) The thesis of this book is that our own psychological "birth" is related to the "birth" of God within us, and that this birth is "always hap­pening." The paradox is that we long for this birth and yet we fear it. For centuries our unconscious fears and longing have been mirrored and "contained" in the religious dogma and symbolism of the church, a channel to the riverbed of the unconscious. But in a church and a culture that general­ly devalues the feminine realm--earth, the body, sexuality, instinct--these energies flow back into the psyche. Today the longing for consciousness and the integration of these energies have led many to leave the church which, they feel, no longer speaks to their needs. Others find spiritual ful­fillment in a strong adherence to traditional doctrinal and Biblical interpretation. Still others, in increasing numbers, find that a more personal inner journey leads not only to greater self-awareness, but also to a richer appreciation of their religious heritage.

My approach throughout Advent and Psychic Birth is to try to make connections between the archetypal images and personal experience, in both ancient and modern modalities, through associations, amplifications and clinical material. In one sense this approach has evolved out of my training in ana­lytical psychology. Yet it has become deeply personal and flows out of my own felt sense of the Advent imagery and my own journey toward psychic birth. Far from diminish­ing my faith in Christ, it has broadened and deepened my understanding of the meaning of incarnation. Jung writes: "The efficacy of dogma by no means rests on Christ's unique historical reality but on its own symbolic nature, by virtue of which it expresses a more or less ubiquitous psy­chological assumption quite independent of the existence of any dogma."(2) On first reading these words we may feel that Jung is undermining dogma and Christ's mission on earth, yet our own experience as it relates to the underlying pattern of dogma, can only serve to enrich its meaning. "In religious matters ... we cannot understand a thing until we have experienced it inwardly ... for it is in this experience that the connection between the psyche and the outward image or creed is revealed .... "(3)

For each of us the image that speaks to us differs. For some it is an image from the Bible or from another religious tradition, while for others it is a dream image, or an image that seems to surface directly from the body. Each of these can be received as "messages " from God.

If we look at the biblical poetry of Advent in a more personal way, we find that while it belongs to the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, it transcends both. Beginning in darkness and destruction and ending in light and rebirth, Advent imagery represents a mythic or archetypal pattern. The Advent call to awaken from sleep is a call to follow the way of consciousness, to search for the inestimable gift, the treasure of the "hidden" self as well as the Imago Dei which carries the power to revitalize us both as individuals and communities. Symbolically, the four Sundays of Advent remind us of the quarternity and of wholeness, as does the familiar Advent wreath with its four candles, one lighted each week suggesting the gradual dissipation of inner and outer darkness. During the first three weeks of the Advent liturgy, the tone is decidedly one of action and movement, beginning with the Baptist's call to prepare a way. With the desert "transition" the tone changes, and during the fourth week the Virgin appears, strong, questioning, willing to trust in the unknown. As in any religious initiation we are led to participate in a new dimension of life. Here, if we can con­tact our own "virgin energies," we listen as the angel speaks and we, in silence, like Mary, wait as the earth "buds forth a savior."

A Welcome Contribution to the Mysteries of Advent

Mariann Burke’s Advent and Psychic Birth does true justice to a great tradition. The author describes Advent as a remembrance and ritualistic preparation for the birth of the historical Christ. She notes, however, that if Christmas is solely a revival of an outer event, it will sooner or later loose its inner significance for the soul.

It is not by accident that the birth of Christ is celebrated around the winter solstice. The author draws attention to the historical links between Christmas and the ancient Saturnalian festivals, held in Rome during the second half of December. They can be understood as a revival of yet older traditions that focused on bringing the ailing sun back to life. The people of archaic cultures had no access to modern astronomy and could never be sure if the sun would regain its strength for the coming year. Hence it needed the help of humans to guarantee the continuity of life, as witnessed in Jung’s conversation with Pueblo Indian who claimed that without their religious practice, the sun might never rise again.

It is precisely this uncertainty that provides Advent with a new significance. If we just follow the outer rituals, without ever questioning the meaning of the birth of God in man, our soul will hardly access the full implications of the tradition. The author reminds us that Advent is a time of darkness. Not only the waning sun possesses an ominous significance, but also the first texts of this cycle begin with the destruction from the Great Flood. They also describe cataclysmic events of the future, and advocate us to remain awake during the night, for we do not know when the master will arrive. The liturgy of the second Sunday focuses on liminality, a time of betwixt and betweens. It is devoted to John the Baptist and his time in the wilderness, a psychological space outside of the norms of conventionality. On the third Sunday there are hints of a new baptism, implying a spiritual rebirth destined for humankind. The fourth Sunday celebrates the union of the Holy Spirit with the human Mary, a meeting of heaven and earth, a joining of opposites in preparation for the emergence of a new image of God and man.

With the help of alchemy and convincing case material, Mariann Burke shows us that the symbols and ritual drama of Advent awaken us to our deeper self. We too are exhorted to accept those dark, exiled, repressed components of the psyche. When we immerse ourselves in those ‘dead’ regions of the soul, we might loose our bearing, at least for a while. We begin to confront hidden desires, fears, or anger, but we can also watch out for signs of new symbol. We learn to be open to the creative potential of the unconscious, often manifesting in images of pregnancy, birth, or the appearance of the Divine Child.

This book is a welcome contribution to the mysteries of Advent. It encourages us to participate in the transformative process of death and renewal. It suggests that the soul needs to die and be reborn so that life blossoms in new and surprising ways. Mariann Burke’s book is a testimony to the wonders of revelation, a story that features the ongoing interaction between the human and divine. It can also help us to weave together the broken threads between Christianity and the older nature religions. Advent celebrates a time to anticipate the soul’s striving for wholeness.
 
John Hill, Jungian analyst, author of At Home in the World: Sounds and Symmetries of Belonging
Title:

Title: Advent and Psychic Birth
Author: Mariann Burke
Paperback: 172 pages
Publisher: Fisher King Press (Dec 1, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1926715993
ISBN-13: 978-1926715995

Fisher King Press publishes an eclectic mix of worthy books including 

Jungian Psychological Perspectives, Cutting-Edge Fiction, Poetry, 

and a growing list of alternative titles. 

www.fisherkingpress.com

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Carl Jung

March 21, 2015

Just Published by Fisher King Press

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Carl Gustav Jung: Side by Sideedited by Fred Gustafson

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and C.G. Jung: Side by Side is an anthology written by authors from different backgrounds, sharing how the lives of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Carl Gustav Jung impacted them personally and/or how they understand the relevance of these two men for our present times.

Contributors to this fourth volume of the Fisher King Review include: John Dourley, Peter Dunlap, Barbara Faris, Fred R. Gustafson, John Giannini, Richard W. Hanhardt, Robert Henderson, Steven B. Herrmann, Jane A. Kelley, Jon Magnuson, Francisco (Paco) Martorell, Stan V. McDaniel, Dennis L. Merritt, and Laura A. Weber.

Though C.G. Jung and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin never met, their independent intellectual inquiries and courageous researches pushed the personal and collective soul forward and placed both of them at the foreground of needing to understand and integrate on a planetary level the core values of their expansive work.

The Clinician's Guide to Treating Guilt

The Guilt Cure proposes a new theory of guilt that can be very helpful to therapists. It puts guilt in a totally different perspective that can help alleviate the pain and suffering it inflicts. Existing theories of guilt are based on the conventional idea that guilt’s primary function is in the protection and maintenance of morals. While guilt certainly contributes to the protection and maintenance of morals, most guilt, in fact, stems from thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that violate no religious, divine, or legal ordinances. Thus, guilt is far more morally neutral than we would ever suspect. Guilt’s moral neutrality stems from its more important psychological role in the creation and maintenance of consciousness and in the workings of the self-regulatory system of the psyche. It is consciousness of guilt’s significant moral neutrality that helps alleviate its pain.

This seminal body of work about the psychological implications of guilt reaches deep into humanity's collective experience of guilt and finds persuasive psychological reasons for guilt's role and purpose that go far beyond conventionally held religious explanations. The Guilt Cure examines the many faces of guilt, including its  function in the creation and maintenance of consciousness, its place in the self-regulatory system of the psyche, its effects on our psychological development, and its impact on our mental health and wellbeing.

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Lifting the Veil

Fisher King Press to publish 
Lifting the Veil

by Jane Kamerling and Fred Gustafson

Available May 15, 2012 - Advance Orders Welcomed

Lifting the Veil: Revealing the Other Side brings awareness to the unconscious and underlying dynamics that are reflected in the history and present day conflicts between the Islamic and Western worlds. The devastation and shock of 9/11 reached every community in America. It raised questions never before considered. Inspired by that event, research became critical to organize our thinking and make sense out of nonsense and organization out of chaos. Political literature addressing the dynamics leading up to the catastrophe of the collapse of the Twin Towers has been prolific as the urgency to understand the Islamic world has increased. International relations theory offers a variety of concepts of why and how nations may respond to one another for expansion, defense or peace. These theories develop with objective quantifiable equations and leave no room for immeasurable, subjective variables. Perception is one of those variables that can not be left out of the equation when looking at what motivates nations and international diplomacy. As Jungian analysts, Gustafson and Kamerling analyze an underlying psychological dynamic that fuels the conflict between the west and the Islamic world. They have distilled information from a variety of readings, interviews, documentaries and personal experiences in the Islamic world.

Jane Kamerling, L.C.S.W. is a Diplomate Jungian Analyst and member of the Chicago Society of Jungian Analysts and Interregional Society of Jungian Analysts. She is a faculty member of the C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago and has designed and co-directed the Clinical Training is a senior analyst who has lectured both nationally and internationality on the relationship of Jungian psychology to culture, mythology and religion. She has a full time analytical practice in Chicago.

Fred R. Gustafson, D. Min. is a Diplomate Jungian Analyst (Zurich) and member of the Chicago Society of Jungian Analysts. He is a senior training analyst with the C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago and a clergy member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He has lectured both nationally and internationally on subjects related to Analytical Psychology and religion. He is the author of The Black Madonna of Einsiedeln: An Ancient Image for Our Present Time, Dancing Between Two Worlds; Jung and the Native American Soul and The Moonlit Path: Reflections on the Dark Feminine.

Product Details
* Lifting the Veil: Revealing the Other Side
* First Edition,160 pages, Paperback and eBook editions
* Publisher: Fisher King Press (May 2012)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 1926715756
* ISBN-13: 978-1926715759

Fisher King Press publishes an eclectic mix of worthy books including 

Jungian Psychological Perspectives, Cutting-Edge Fiction, Poetry, 

and a growing list of alternative titles. 

www.fisherkingpress.com

News Release: Wisdom in the Gospel Healing Stories

Another New Fisher King Press Publication!

Transforming Body & Soul
Therapeutic Wisdom in the Gospel Healing Stories
Revised Edition with Index, larger pages & font
by Steven A. Galipeau

Publication Date: Dec 1, 2011

"Religion has become sick. Jesus’s teaching and healing ministries point out this frightening and important truth. The worst enemies of religion usually lie within religion itself. A subtle rigidity takes over that blocks the flow of healing."
—Chapter 7 of Transforming Body & Soul

With all the scholarly attention given to the Scriptures in the Christian community, it is remarkable how little study has been done of the Gospel healing stories. These stories embody and reflect powerful interpersonal dynamics, which are being rediscovered today in the practice of psychotherapy. As a healer, Jesus forms a bridge between the most ancient of healers, the shamans, and recent developments in psychosomatic medicine and depth psychology. Body and soul are intimately connected--health in one is often reflected in wholeness in the other.

Blending the insights of Biblical scholarship with those of modern psychology, Galipeau examines each of the Gospel healing stories in depth. Transforming Body and Soul is a valuable resource for psychotherapists and counselors as well as clergy and pastoral ministers. Anyone seeking health and wholeness of body and spirit will find this a rewarding, challenging and therapeutic book.

Originally published by Paulist Press in 1990, Transforming Body & Soul is a significant contribution to Jungian psychology and to the relationship between psychological and spiritual development.This Revised Edition, now includes an Index, Larger pages, Larger font and a Foreword by the author.

Steven Galipeau is a Jungian analyst in private practice and executive director of Coldwater Counseling Center in Studio City, California. A member of the C. G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles, he is a frequent lecturer in the intersection of Jungian psychology and popular culture.

Product Details
* Paperback: 180 pages
* Revised Edition, now includes an Index
* Publisher: Fisher King Press (Dec 2011)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 1926715624
* ISBN-13: 978-1926715629

Fisher King Press publishes an eclectic mix of worthy books including Jungian Psychological Perspectives, Cutting-Edge Fiction, and a growing list of alternative titles.

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Enemy, Cripple, Beggar: Finalist of NAAP Gradiva® Award

Enemy, Cripple, Beggar: 
Shadows in the Hero’s Path
is 1 of 3 finalists for the Theoretical category of the NAAP Gradiva® Award.

In Enemy, Cripple, Beggar: Shadows in the Hero's Path, Erel Shalit provides new thoughts and views on the concepts of Hero and Shadow. From a Jungian perspective, this Fisher King Press publication elaborates on mythological and psychological images. Myths and fairy tales explored include Perseus and Andersen's The Cripple. You'll also enjoy the psychological deciphering of Biblical stories such as Amalek - The Wicked Warrior, Samson - The Impoverished Sun, and Jacob & the Divine Adversary. With the recent discovery of The Gospel of Judas, Dr. Shalit also delves into the symbolic relationship between Jesus and Judas Iscariot to illustrate the hero-function's inevitable need of a shadow.

About the Author
Erel Shalit is a Jungian psychoanalyst in Ra'anana, Israel. He is a training and supervising analyst, and past president of the Israel Society of Analytical Psychology (ISAP). He is the author of several publications, including The Hero and His Shadow: Psychopolitical Aspects of Myth and Reality in Israel and The Complex: Path of Transformation from Archetype to Ego. Articles of his have appeared in Quadrant, The Jung Journal, Spring Journal, Political Psychology, Clinical Supervisor, Round Table Review, Jung Page, Midstream, and he has entries in The Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Dr. Shalit lectures at professional institutes, universities, and cultural forums in Israel, Europe, and the United States.

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Press Release: Enemy, Cripple & Beggar by Erel Shalit

Press Release  

Fisher King Press announced:

Available July 15th, 2008

Enemy, Cripple, Beggar: Shadows in the Hero’s Path
By Erel Shalit

In Enemy, Cripple, Beggar, Erel Shalit provides new thoughts and views on the concepts of Hero and Shadow. From a Jungian perspective, this Fisher King Press publication elaborates on mythological and psychological images. Myths and fairy tales explored include Perseus and Andersen’s ‘The Cripple.’ You’ll also enjoy the psychological deciphering of Biblical stories such as Amalek—The Wicked Warrior, Samson—The Impoverished Sun, and Jacob & the Divine Adversary. With the recent discovery of The Gospel of Judas, Dr. Shalit also delves into the symbolic relationship between Jesus and Judas Iscariot to illustrate the hero-function’s inevitable need of a shadow. Clinical material concerning a case of a powerful erotic counter-transference is also an integral part of this deeply insightful body of work.

The Hero is that aspect of our psyche, or in society, who dares to venture into the unknown, into the shadow of the unconscious, bringing us in touch with the darker aspects in our soul and in the world. In fact, it is the hero whom we send each night into the land of dreams to bring home the treasures of the unconscious. He, or no less she, will have to struggle with the Enemy that so often is mis-projected onto the detested Other, learn to care and attend to the Cripple who carries our crippling complexes and weaknesses, and develop respect for the shabby Beggar to whom we so often turn our backs—for it is the ‘beggar in need’ who holds the key to our inner Self.

In Enemy, Cripple & Beggar: Shadows in the Hero’s Path, as with Erel Shalit’s previous book, The Complex: Path of Transformation from Archetype to Ego, alternative comprehensive views of the Shadow and the Hero images are provided and theory further explored. In addition to analysts and Jungian oriented psychotherapists and clinicians, Enemy, Cripple & Beggar can be comfortably read by an informed lay public interested in Analytical Psychology and by those interested in the interface between psychology and mythology, and psychology and religion.

Erel Shalit is a Jungian psychoanalyst in Ra’anana, Israel. He is a training and supervising analyst, and past president of the Israel Society of Analytical Psychology. He is the author of several publications, including The Hero and His Shadow: Psychopolitical Aspects of Myth and Reality in Israel and The Complex: Path of Transformation from Archetype to Ego. Articles of his have appeared in journals such as Quadrant, The Jung Journal, Spring Journal, Political Psychology, Clinical Supervisor, Round Table Review, Jung Page, Midstream and he has entries in The Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Dr. Shalit lectures at professional institutes, universities and cultural forums in Israel, Europe and the United States.

Enemy, Cripple & Beggar
ISBN 978-0-9776076-7-9
Order directly from Fisher King Press

Fisher King to publish 'Enemy, Cripple & Beggar' by Erel Shalit

With Great Pleasure Fisher King Press announced today:

Available August 2008 from Fisher King Press:

Enemy, Cripple, Beggar: Shadows in the Hero’s Path
by Erel Shalit

In Enemy, Cripple, Beggar: Shadows in the Hero’s Path, Erel Shalit provides new thoughts and views on the concepts of Hero and Shadow. From a Jungian perspective, this forthcoming Fisher King Press publication will elaborate on mythological and psychological images. Myths and fairy tales explored include Perseus and Andersen’s The Cripple. You’ll also enjoy the psychological deciphering of Biblical stories such as Amalek—The Wicked Warrior, Samson—The Impoverished Sun, and Jacob & the Divine Adversary. With the recent discovery of The Gospel of Judas, Dr. Shalit also delves into the symbolic relationship between Jesus and Judas Iscariot to illustrate the hero-function’s inevitable need of a shadow. Clinical material concerning a case of a powerful erotic counter-transference is also an integral part of this deeply insightful body of work.

The Hero is that aspect of our psyche, or in society, who dares to venture into the unknown, into the shadow of the unconscious, bringing us in touch with the darker aspects in our soul and in the world. In fact, it is the hero whom we send each night into the land of dreams to bring home the treasures of the unconscious. He, or no less she, will have to struggle with the Enemy that so often is mis-projected onto the detested Other, learn to care and attend to the Cripple who carries our crippling complexes and weaknesses, and develop respect for the shabby Beggar to whom we so often turn our backs—for it is the 'beggar in need' who holds the key to our inner Self.

As with Erel Shalit’s previously published book The Complex: Path of Transformation from Archetype to Ego, comprehensive views of the concepts and images of the Shadow and the Hero are provided and theory further explored. While directed toward an audience of analysts and Jungian oriented psychotherapists and clinicians, Enemy, Cripple, & Beggar: Shadows in the Hero’s Path can be comfortably read as well by an informed lay public interested in Analytical Psychology and Psychoanalysis, and by those interested in the interface between psychology and mythology, and psychology and religion.

Erel Shalit is a Jungian psychoanalyst in Ra'anna, Israel. He is a training and supervising analyst, and past president of the Israel Society of Analytical Psychology (ISAP). He is the author of several publications, including The Hero and His Shadow: Psychopolitical Aspects of Myth and Reality in Israel and The Complex: Path of Transformation from Archetype to Ego. Several of his Articles have appeared in Quadrant, The Jung Journal, Spring Journal, Political Psychology, Clinical Supervisor, Round Table Review, Jung Page, Midstream, and he has entries in The Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Dr. Shalit has taught at the Department of Psychotherapy, Tel Aviv University Medical School, and lectures at professional institutes, universities, and cultural forums in Israel, Europe, and the United States.

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