Thoughts on Record: Podcast of the Ottawa Institute of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Dr. James Hollis - Living a Life of Meaning

Season 5 Episode 3

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Host note: folks, I invite you to pay very close attention to what Dr. Hollis has to say...could change your life.

Jungian/Depth psychology provides a wonderful framework for exploring questions related to meaning and the self that can at time fall outside of boundaries of what is typically explored in cognitive behavioural therapy.  Esteemed author and Jungian analyst Dr. James Hollis joins us for an in-depth discussion of core themes explored in his new book, A Life of Meaning: Relocating Your Center of Spiritual Gravity.  In this conversation we cover:  

  • defining depth/Jungian psychology 
  • knowing the wants, needs & agendas our unconscious might have
  • a consideration of whether the desires of the unconscious be used as a compass with respect to where to take one’s life
  • comparing and contrasting the wisdom of the unconscious vs. that of the ego and what each mode has to teach the other 
  • the importance of a constant bidirectional conversation/negotiation between the unconscious and the ego
  • defining the shadow and the value of shadow work
  • knowing when we have aligned the will of our unconscious and conscious minds  
  • developing flexibility in tolerating an emergent, incongruent sense of self   especially if our unconscious makes conscious a particularly challenging fork in the road that would potentially upset others or ourselves.  
  • recognizing key opportunities for change/departures in one's life

Comments or feedback?  Email us at: oicbtpodcast@gmail.com

James Hollis, PhD was born in Springfield, Illinois, and graduated from Manchester University in 1962 and Drew University in 1967. He taught Humanities 26 years in various colleges and universities before retraining as a Jungian analyst at the Jung Institute of Zurich, Switzerland (1977-82). He is presently a licensed Jungian analyst in private practice in Washington, D.C. He served as Executive Director of the Jung Educational Center in Houston, Texas for many years, was Executive Director of the Jung Society of Washington until 2019, and now serves on the JSW Board of Directors. He is a retired Senior Training Analyst for the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts, was first Director of Training of the Philadelphia Jung Institute, and is Vice-President Emeritus of the Philemon Foundation. Additionally he is a Professor of Jungian Studies for Saybrook University of San Francisco/Houston. He has written a total of seventeen books, which have been translated into 19 languages

https://jameshollis.net/welcome.htm