....and the contribution that the man made to the last century. Jung is probably the most under-rated pioneer of the 21st century whose career, though internal & solitary, spans an epic adventure; the Journey to Self.


It is my opinion that Carl Jung is one of the most important thinkers of the last century, if not the most important. As I discovered Jung's work and theories in my mid-twenties I was in amazement and awe.  The fact of the matter, I realised, is that if western society were truly 'open', not only would Carl Jung's name be much better known than his mentor, Sigmund Freud, but his ideas would have sparked a much greater transformation in our society. But in any society there are those who are ahead of the game by a couple centuries at least, thanks to the diversity of Life.

However I think it is very sad that even those in the fields devoted to the psyche do not seem to be properly familiar with the heart of Jungian theory. Those of my friends who have visited therapists at one time or another all seem disappointed with the experience. When I ask them what the therapy consisted of I am always taken aback, the way it is said Jung was taken aback upon discovering that his mentor, Freud, was happy to hold back the truth to maintain his own status.  When I hear of therapists who 'just sit and listen' I am reminded that Freud's defensive reaction was born out of greed.  The same greed that keeps the psychological profession from embracing a not-so-new concept of therapy. Jung seemed to always be in awe of the vastness of the psyche and saw himself and his patients as pioneers. One cannot imagine Jung being the sort of guy to stoically hide behind spectacles, a notepad and nods of the head.  Indeed his patients were encouraged in all manner of interactivity, from creating art to actual child's play! Many of Jung's patients went on to become therapists themselves, so involved had they been in their own healing!

But it is precisely because of his open and adventurous nature that the true Jung has been side-lined in our universities and therapy rooms. In his efforts to penetrate the psyche he took up pursuits of which the mere mention would today still cause many a conceited smirk on the faces of many intellectuals. In fact one of the mos astonishing things about Jung was his willingness not to make assumptions and to experiment with various methods of approaching the mystery we know as psyche. Methods such as astrology, tarot, the qabbalah, mythology and even magick!

To be sure among academia Jung is credited as the co-founder, along with Freud, of modern psycho-therapy. However in practise his true contribution to our understanding of the human 'soul' is largely rejected, except by those whose fibre calls them too to take up the methods of mystery, such as I am sure populate this forum.

So please join me in a 'free and open' discussion of one of the most interesting men that has lived in the modern age.

Often the masters in many fields seem to have a prophetic ability when it comes to the value of their own work and here I am reminded of Jung saying in an interview, some time near the beginning of the second world war, that if man does not recognise that within himself alone lies his own destruction.
Unfortunately like many other masters Jung went too far.  That is, he went much farther than many could handle. It is said in myhtological study that there are two kinds of heroes; those who return with their boon and are embraced and celebrated, and those whose return is seen as a threat to the status quo

could dream of, returning from his hero's journey with the boon of a new way of seeing ourselves