PTSD and Intuition: Did Our Reptile Ancestors have a Literal Third Eye?

PTSD and Intuition: Did Our Reptile Ancestors have a Literal Third Eye?

The Subcortical Brain and the Roots of the Unconscious The human mind is a vast and complex landscape, with conscious awareness representing only the tip of the iceberg. Beneath the surface lies a realm of unconscious processes, instincts, and archetypal patterns that profoundly shape our perceptions, emotions, and behaviors. In recent years, advances in neuroscience and depth psychology have begun to shed light on the evolutionary roots of the unconscious mind and its intimate connection to the subcortical brain...

Turning Anger Into a Signpost: Understanding and Channeling Your Rage

Turning Anger Into a Signpost: Understanding and Channeling Your Rage

How can I get over on Past Anger? Anger is a powerful and often misunderstood emotion. Many of us have been taught to view anger as a purely negative force - something to be suppressed, avoided, or released in cathartic outbursts. But what if anger could be more than just a destructive impulse? What if it could serve as a signpost, pointing us towards important truths about ourselves and our relationships to the world around us? At its core, anger is a signal that there is a mismatch between our inner experience...

The Dark Reflection: Adam Curtis’s “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace”

The Dark Reflection: Adam Curtis’s “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace”

What is the Point of All Watched over by Machines of Loving Grace I like to think (and the sooner the better!) of a cybernetic meadow where mammals and computers live together in mutually programming harmony like pure water touching clear sky. These opening lines from Richard Brautigan's 1967 poem "All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace" paint a seductive picture: a world where nature and technology blend seamlessly, where humans and machines coexist in a kind of symbiotic dance. But beneath the surface of...

Science or Science-Flavored Capitalism? Deconstructing the Evidence-Based Practice Paradigm

Science or Science-Flavored Capitalism? Deconstructing the Evidence-Based Practice Paradigm

Evidence-based practice (EBP) has become the dominant paradigm in healthcare and mental health, promising to ground clinical decision-making in rigorous scientific evidence. Proponents argue that by privileging data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and systematic reviews, EBP can optimize treatment outcomes, standardize best practices, and eliminate waste from the healthcare system. However, a closer examination of the EBP movement reveals a number of epistemological, methodological, and political issues...

The Limits of Behaviorism: Rediscovering the Soul in Psychotherapy

The Limits of Behaviorism: Rediscovering the Soul in Psychotherapy

 For much of the 20th century, the dominant paradigm in psychology was behaviorism, which focused on observable behavior and sought to understand the mind through the lens of stimulus-response conditioning. This approach gave rise to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which remains one of the most widely practiced forms of psychotherapy today. While CBT has proven effective for certain conditions, particularly anxiety disorders, it is fundamentally limited by its reliance on a narrow, mechanistic view of the...

Generational Cycles and Parts-Based Therapy: Understanding Generational Differences as Overreactions

Generational Cycles and Parts-Based Therapy: Understanding Generational Differences as Overreactions

The Generational Cycles of Trauma: A Parts-Based Perspective It has long been pointed out be different schools of therapy that the patterns that repeat in the individual psyche on a micro level also mirror the family system at a mezzo and the society at a macro level. Parts-based therapy, a post-jungian modality rooted in the recognition of distinct internalized aspects of the self, offers a valuable lens through which to understand these generational cycles. Parts-based therapies represent an evolution of...

The Perennial Philosophy and Depth Psychology: Uncovering Universal Patterns of Wisdom and Healing

The Perennial Philosophy and Depth Psychology: Uncovering Universal Patterns of Wisdom and Healing

Throughout history, mystics, philosophers, and wisdom traditions from around the world have independently arrived at strikingly similar insights into the nature of the human psyche, the path to healing and wholeness, and the fundamental structure of reality. These recurring patterns and themes, often referred to as the perennial philosophy, point to a universal substratum of human experience that transcends cultural and historical boundaries. In the 20th century, the pioneering work of depth psychologists such as...

The Development of Carl Jung’s Psychology: A Biographical and Intellectual Journey

The Development of Carl Jung’s Psychology: A Biographical and Intellectual Journey

Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) was a seminal figure in the history of psychology, whose original and wide-ranging thought laid the foundations for the field of analytical psychology. Over the course of his long career, Jung developed an extensive theoretical framework that encompassed such concepts as the collective unconscious, archetypes, psychological types, and the process of individuation. In this article, we will trace the development of Jung's ideas through the major periods of his life, exploring the...

The Psychology of Magenta: Emotional Integration, Wholeness, and Spiritual Transcendence

The Psychology of Magenta: Emotional Integration, Wholeness, and Spiritual Transcendence

What does Magenta Mean in a Dream? Magenta, a captivating and enigmatic color, occupies a unique place in the spectrum of human perception and experience. Not found in the traditional sequence of visible light, magenta arises from the combination of red and violet wavelengths at opposite ends of the spectrum. As the last color humans evolved to perceive, magenta engages more recently developed and integrative brain networks, hinting at its profound capacity to promote emotional healing, self-acceptance, and...

The Psychology of Red: Passion, Power, and the Primal Self

The Psychology of Red: Passion, Power, and the Primal Self

What Does Red Mean in a Dream? Red, the color of blood and fire, is perhaps the most primal and visceral of all the hues on the spectrum. Associated with intense emotions, vital life force, and the very essence of human survival and power, red evokes a raw, instinctual response that cuts straight to the core of our being. In this comprehensive exploration, we will dive deep into the multifaceted nature of red, examining its profound impact on our physiology, psychology, and behavior. We will investigate the...