Dive into the Depths….
Four Pillars of Jungian Psychoanalysis by Murray Stein (Book Review)
“This little book gives a good birds-eye-view of the terrain covered by Jungian psychoanalysis and clarifies what makes this field so special. Stein has authored a wonderful invitation to his readers to dive into the possibilities in store for them when they explore the images generated by their dreaming self and bring these into dialogue with active imagination within the therapeutic relationship. Whether you pursue and how deep into these rabbit holes you go, the choice is yours.”
— Vijay Ramanathan
With his 2022 book Four Pillars of Jungian Psychoanalysis, Jungian analyst Murray Stein has written a strong introduction to the field for newcomers. This book succinctly articulates what is unique about Jungian psychoanalysis by presenting in a short and easy-to-follow text on the four foundational approaches in Jungian psychoanalysis: (1) Individuation, (2) The Analytic Relationship, (3) Dream Analysis, (4) Active Imagination. The book also gives some references for more in-depth books in the field related to these subject areas. As I am studying mental health counseling, I found this book to be an accessible reference point to better understand how the four major tent-poles of Jungian psychoanalysis relate and support each other. I also made some personal connections with the materials given my commitment to therapy both as a client and a future analyst. One of the major questions this book inspired me to reflect on was “Why do we go to therapy?” and “What are its larger goals?”. I feel strongly about the reasons to go to therapy, but for some, it remains elusive how this can help them.
There are many competing models in human growth development. Stein writes about the “acorn theory of psychological development.” This states that the “whole tree is contained potentially in the seed, but if you cut the acorn open you will not see a tiny version of the giant tree it will become. You will find only the germ, the genetic material that in time will give this tree its distinctive shape and character” (8). Many people relate with their potential energy and understand that despite not meeting their own or others’ expectations, there is, within themselves, a vast reservoir of unrealized energy that, if and when given the right attention and care, will sprout into great achievement. This is a natural human feeling that underlines the idea that while we all have limitless possibilities within us, we also have certain tendencies that are with us from birth that give rise to us fulfilling what we have been born to accomplish. This is Individuation, the first pillar.
Individuation is an embodiment of the transpersonal. When we speak to something above or beyond (c.f.: trans) the individual experience of a person, the persona, we also include that which is beyond the material body, inclusive of the luminous body. C.G. Jung pioneered transpersonal psychology and invited us to see our lives in terms of the subtle relationship we have with the divine light and the shadow energies. When we conceptualize our life story in terms of stages of the life path as we would understand the Hero’s Journey, as Joseph Campbell might formulate it, we can then access this transpersonal space wherein we can remain both truly an individual and connected to the whole of the human experience. For me, alignment with our potential and achievement of our goals is the most compelling reason to go to therapy.
Pillar two is the therapeutic relationship between analyst and client. More broadly, relationships are the most important part of our lives. Many self-help books including The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People highlight how forming meaningful connections are the foundation for a successful life. This is the skill set I see the most failures in others (and, yes, even in myself). The therapist is someone with whom we may practice intimacy and communication, relating with someone who is simultaneously close and distant. Stein writes “The closeness is a product of the intense interactive encounter between the two people in the room, and the distance is a result of the thinking the analyst is necessarily doing while processing the client clinically” (37). Empathy and affirmation build the client to feel seen and heard by the analyst. We can make space for true reflective listening with others only when we feel heard. We understand most when we are understood. We trust the analyst to tell it to us like it is. This helpful honesty of the analyst is there to support the achievement of our own highest potential.
There are many techniques on how we can go about this actualization. The dual supporting techniques of dream analysis and active imagination, which are particular to Jungian psychoanalysis, are explored as pillars three and four. Many people will isolate a dream here and there and feel there is no sense to that dream and therefore dream analysis is useless. However, it is not individual dreams that are in question, but building a relationship with dreams that is helpful. When we begin to make space for documenting and observing dreams we create a psychic dynamic that will yield results. There’s nothing more helpful than honoring what your mind is dreaming. We have all the answers we need within ourselves if we would just turn inwards and see them for what they are telling us. Stein reviews some of the major principles in approaching a dream including but not limited to: narrative frames, personal life context, subjective associations with symbolic dream language, and amplification of archetypal meanings of images in a transpersonal context.
Within the framework of understanding that no one is an island unto themselves, we can then begin to see that when we open ourselves up to the energies within us we can invite powerful transpersonal currents to carry us away. That can be a wonderful but also dangerous adventure we are invited to join. That’s why Jung advanced “Active Imagination” as a pathway to having a dialogue between our persona, our known self, with the unknown unconscious forces that create the hidden parts of our psyche. As a poet, I use some of these techniques to generate ideas, as many artists do in their creative practice. Stein does a strong job articulating the basics of this approach and giving some resources for further study. Stein gives some strong illustrations of how active imagination can play out in a few case studies. For me, these examples illustrates the larger goal of therapy as being to fearlessly engage in the adventure life has to offer so that we may make meaningful imprints on our mind for our future self as well as our community.
This book can be seen as an opener for novices or a refresher for those seasoned in the field. While it would have been helpful to make for a longer text that dived a little deeper into each subject area, many other resources do just that. This little book, clocking in at 134 pages, gives a good birds-eye-view of the terrain covered by Jungian psychoanalysis and clarifies what makes this field so special. Stein has authored a wonderful invitation to his readers to explore the possibilities in store for them when they explore the images generated by their dreaming self and bring these into dialogue with active imagination within the therapeutic relationship. Whether you pursue and how deep into these rabbit holes you go, the choice is yours.
https://vijayrnathan.com/
