Erel Shalit

This is title no. 98 in the series Studies in Jungian Psychology by Jungian Analysts. Erel Shalit provides a conceptual scaffold that allows an examination of the inner structures and assumptions that underpin actions, discussions, loves, and hates. If one is hopeful of building an overview of personal and collective heritage and thus gain some measure of self-determination, one must enter into the dim light of the inner framework and learn its layout.

Path of Transformation from Archetype to Ego

The Complex

Murray Stein

With the publication of the correspondence between C. G. Jung and Erich Neumann, the major contributions made by Neumann to depth psychology are coming back into focus and assuming new prominence. These articles offer reflections on the creative relationship between Jung and Neumann and possible extensions of their work for the future.

Erich Neumann and C.G. Jung in Relationship (1933-1960)

Turbulent Times, Creative Minds

"The art of life is the most distinguished and rarest of all the arts." -C.G. Jung, CW 8, par. 789. The Cycle of Life explores the patterns that unfold over the course of our lives, as we set out to find our place in the world, in our efforts to live authentically, and in our search for home-that place within ourselves that can so easily be neglected or disregarded in this fast-paced modern world. In the first half of life, the task of the young traveler is to depart from home, to adventure out into the world to find his or her own individual path. However, in the second half, we find ourselves on what often amounts to a very long journey in search of home. In many a tale, the hero, for instance Gilgamesh, sets off on his road to find life's elixir, while other stories, such as the Odyssey, revolve around the hero's long and arduous journey home. Many are also familiar with the journey of Dante, who at the very beginning of his Divine Comedy finds himself "Midway along the journey of our life.” The archetypal journey of life is constantly reenacted in the never-ending process of individuation. We find ourselves returning to this venture repeatedly, every night, as we set out on our voyage into the landscape of our unconscious. Many dreams begin by being on the way, for instance: I am on my way to ... I am driving on a road that leads into the desert ... I am walking through one room after the other in a long corridor-like building ... I am walking towards my office, but it looks different than in reality ... I walk on the pavement and on the opposite side of the street someone seems to be following me ... I go down into an underground parking ... I am in my car, but someone I don't know is driving ... I have to go to the place from where I came ...

Themes and Tales of the Journey

The Cycle of Life

Well-known Jungian analyst, author and lecturer Erel Shalit passed away in early 2018. This is his book, The Human Soul (Lost) in Transition At the Dawn of a New Era, published posthumously. “The aim of this book,” wrote Shalit, “is to present a depth psychological perspective on phenomena pertaining to the present, postmodern era. As such, its origins are in the depths; symbolically, in the depth of the waters, in which the sacred is reflected. Likewise, this book centers around the image, which has travelled from the forbidden zone of the transcendent command ‘make no graven image,’ through the interiority of the human soul, to become an exteriorized, computerized, robot-generated image that virtualizes as well as augments reality.” This book explores the changing character of the relationship between us humans and the image, and the dramatic impact this has in post-modern culture.

The Human Soul (Lost) in Transition At the Dawn of a New Era

The Hero and His Shadow introduces a psychological perspective on the history, development and present myths of Israeli society. Erel Shalit focuses on the actualization of the Zionist myth, which depended on a small group of individuals to transform the idea into matter by merging personal identity with collective idea. Shalit also explores the psychological consequences of Israel's wars, from independence to the present war of terror, from a personal and a psychoanalytic perspective, with social examples and clinical vignettes.

Psychopolitical Aspects of Myth and Reality in Israel

The Hero and His Shadow

CJP Centrum för Jungiansk Psykologi (Solna, Sweden)

Centrum för jungiansk psykologi

komplexets arketyp

Oidipus

Requiem returns us to an eternal theme, a dialogue with Soul, and we know quite well what happens when one dialogues with Soul-we change, consciousness is enlarged, the impossible becomes possible and we no longer are compelled to blindly follow in the deathly path of our forefathers. Requiem is a fictitious account of a scenario played out in the mind of many Israelis, pertaining to existential reflections and apocalyptic fears, but then, as well, the hope and commitment that arise from the abyss of trepidation. While set in Israel sometime in the present, it is a story that reaches into the timelessness of history, weaving discussions with Heine and Kafka into a tale of universal implications.

A Tale of Exile & Return

Requiem

In 'Shadows in the Hero's Path: the Enemy, the Cripple, and the Beggar,' 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 relation-ship 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.

Erel Shalit

Books

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