by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Apr 7, 2024 | Mystics, Gurus, and Spiritual Philosophers
“If I had a friend and loved him because of the benefits which this brought me and because of getting my own way, then it would not be my friend that I loved but myself. I should love my friend on account of his own goodness and virtues and account of all that he is...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Apr 6, 2024 | Phenomenology and Existential Psychology
Who was Sri Aurobindo? “There is nothing mind can do that cannot be better done in the mind’s immobility and thought-free stillness. When mind is still, then truth gets her chance to be heard in the purity of the silence.” — Sri Aurobindo Sri...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Mar 25, 2024 | Interviews and Case Studies, Psychology of Design and Architecture
In a recent interview, Dr. James Maffie, author of “Aztec Philosophy,” shared his insights into the complex and fascinating world of Aztec metaphysics. Dr. Maffie explained that the Aztec worldview centers around the concept of “teotl,” a...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Nov 6, 2023 | Dreams and the Unconcious, Symbolism and Meaning
What is the symbolism of different colors in dreams? What does the color red mean in dreams: In dreams, colors wield the power to mirror our deepest emotions and psychic states, and red, with its primal force and psychological weight, offers a particularly vivid...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Oct 1, 2023 | Neuroscience and the Brain, Resources for Therapists and Private Practice, Trauma Treatment in Alabama
What is it that Brainspotting is doing in the brain? One of the questions that we get asked the most is how brain based medicine like brainspotting, EMDR, and ETT work in the brain. Like many discoveries before it we know often discover THAT something works and then...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Sep 20, 2023 | Mystics, Gurus, and Spiritual Philosophers, Neuroscience and the Brain, Phenomenology and Existential Psychology
Jungian Thought with a Unique Perspective on Ego Development in Mythology Erich Neumann’s “The Origins and History of Consciousness” is a dense and relatively early exploration of Jungian psychology. The book not only delves into the intricate web of...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Aug 4, 2022 | Neuroscience and the Brain, Phenomenology and Existential Psychology, Taproot Therapy Collective Podcast Episodes, Trauma Treatment in Alabama, Trauma, Depth Psychology, and Social Work
Yellow garden spiders have a fat yellow abdomen slicked with yellow and black stripes. They weave a tiny white squiggle in the center of their webs. I stare at the faintly milky zig zag as it sways when wind moves the web and stirs the iris sepals it hangs...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Apr 4, 2022 | Alternative Medicine and Holistic Health
Freud very nearly did not become a psychiatrist. He originally researched as a neurologist before moving into other disciplines. Freud’s journals document a tremendous amount of study in varied topics he saw as likely breakthroughs to bring him renown. Much of his...
by Joel Blackstock LICSW-S MSW PIP | Oct 14, 2020 | Jungian Concepts, Mystics, Gurus, and Spiritual Philosophers, Self Help and Personal Development
The Journey of Self-Discovery: Embracing the Acorn Within In Jungian therapy, I often share with patients the metaphor of a dormant “acorn” within each of us. This acorn inherently knows the kind of oak it wants to become but needs the right conditions—sunlight,...
