REHABILITATION OF THE FEELING FUNCTION: Marie Louise von Franz's final lecture
Marie-Louise von Franz, Jung’s close collaborator, capped her public work in a 1986 lecture that summarized Jung’s signal contributions to understanding the human experience. Jung was concerned that rationalism, quantitative methodologies, and the objectification of people and animals had become one-sided, resulting in ethical and empathic deficiencies. He felt the over-development of professional personas-even among physicians and psychotherapists-led to avoiding authentic encounters. Sentimentality, a superficial expression of feeling, could be used to mask cruelty, including to animals. For Jung, relationship to the sacred was foundational, and was the true source of an ethical stance. He felt that a well-developed feeling function, the conscious development of empathy, and differentiated relatedness are at the heart of the human endeavor. The feminine principle of eros is central to his work. This Jungian Life explored von Franz’ insightful and moving summation of her understanding of Jung and his work in a presentation for the Washington, D.C. Jung Society.
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What an extraordinarily beautiful episode. The feeling function, as defined by Joseph, awakened me further by laying the groundwork for all the richness that followed. Thank you, Thank you. Thank you.
I just love MLvFranz. Though she was Jung's student and colleague, she was more like Sophia than any woman I have come across. How I missed this among your podcasts, I have no idea, but I am so glad to have found it. Many many thanks to you.
I’ve been in love with MLvF for a long time. Thanks for reminding me why. 😉
Thank you for your effort and passion, I always learn a lot whenever I listen to the podcast 🙏🏼
I'd give the 26 year old man more credit for his phantom. After all, he was in a ghost town. The chandelier didn't make me think of spiritual bypassing at all!!! It was brilliant , dazzling illumination. Literally. It reminded me of the beginning of phantom of the Opera where they're going through a dusty old place and then they find the original chandelier and they're going to auction it off, when the auctioneer says "Perhaps we can frighten away the ghost of so many years ago with a little illumination, gentleman!". Where upon the dusty old chandelier rises to the roof and they begin to tell the story of how it all went down. In this case, the chandelier is a link to the past, but moreover, it represents the need to illuminate the past and it's doing it in a grand opera style, where one will gives one's undivided attention to that phantom's story. Kind of like a ritual of rememberence. Why such negative associations with The chandelier did it come crashing down or something? Why do we all hate chandeliers? Did something scary happen last time we had brilliant illumination of a chandelier or did it fall down on us or something? I also immediately thought of this as a generational thing;as something in the family.
“As I stepped beyond the threshold, I entered another world-like Dorothy walking into Oz. A slight breeze swirled the leaves and branches and blossoms of the garden, brushing the skin on my arms. Soft air and clear light caressed my face. Just then, the music stopped. It took me a moment to realize that the music in my head was actually in my iPod and the iPod must have run out of power. I took out the ear buds and a far more fantastic music flooded in, leaves rustling, birds chirping, insects buzzing, the distant shoosh of tires on the road invisible behind the trees. I sat at the wrought-iron table and put my feet up. The crystalline light astonished me. The air, neither hot nor cold, was invigoratingly dry. I felt energy radiating from my body into the air, mingling with the radiations emanating from all the life surrounding me. I scanned the back yard. The ornamental grasses had begun to shoot out golden tufts; the crepe myrtle, hydrangea, stone crop, petunias and geraniums all had covered themselves in blossoms. Figs grew large and heavy on the fig tree, which exploded tropically in one corner of the yard, and fat red tomatoes swelled on the still leafing vines in another. Tendrils of Virginia creeper and wild grape dripped from the pines across the back fence, persimmons hung from the persimmon tree like Christmas ornaments. I had seen all this the previous morning, and many other mornings before that. But now I had stepped into a page from an illuminated fairy tale. Just as that thought entered my mind, three large yellow butterflies appeared, flitting in spirals around me. I laughed aloud: I was in Oz after all🌄… …I can’t think of any other way to put this but to say the sky opened, and grace poured down all around me. Light itself had transformed into a palpable substance, spilling down as if from a fountain. But it was more than light. It was blessings of every kind, goodness incarnate, flowing inexhaustible and immutable from above. I didn’t say to myself, “What is this?” I didn’t guess. I knew, I saw, I was in the presence of God. This wasn’t a God with whom I could have a conversation, at least not two-way. I think I said, or shouted, “Ok, I am DEFINITELY not an atheist,” but God was mute, or rather, I understood, or perceived, that the only response God would ever make was the boundless bounty of beauty cascading over me. After the shock and awe, my first thought was that this gift absurdly overmatched anything I could possibly have deserved. I thought, and said aloud, “Why me?” Instantly, that seemed too pleased with myself. I could just look at this phenomenon that confronted me, this Niagara Falls of beauty pouring down, and know that I hadn’t been “chosen.” I was no one special. This was just what God was, a permanent condition that somehow had remained invisible to me until this moment..” reset.me/story/tried-psychedelic-mushrooms-35-years-saw-light/🦋🌈🍄🌅🍄🌈🦋
Wow, thank you so much for inviting me into your garden and sharing your experience with me, it's beautiful, and I will be sure to follow your "breadcrumb trail" and see it more thoroughly. My own similar experience last September didn't involve psychedelics but was stress-induced, wasn't bright and generative but darkly beautiful and opened me to a previously unacknowledged spiritual universe and parts of myself I had forgotten. I was visited also, not by butterflies but by an owl "who"ing me from a tree for three days while a dragonfly whispered a poem of greeting in my ear: "I'm pleased to meet you my long-forgotten friend, though I don't remember, when last we met, were we then lovers or kin?, or how many times have our lives' lines been crossed in thick or in thin, but I hope we share in the pleasure of meeting here...again." (excerpt from "The Book Of Ronin" ) Every tiny flower previously unnoticed became a herald trumpeting symbolism with its petals; the purity and innocence of the union of Masculine and Feminine, forgiveness and redemption in a patch of tiny white crosses, glee and encouragement from the upraised tiny yellow pompoms of a squad of silent cheerleaders, the barely parted dark pink lips of maidens expectant of a first kiss- agonizingly breathtaking beauty given freely by Nature's grace, dismissed by us as weeds and given the scythe time after time, only to return. On the third day I was visited by a bright cobalt blue and black damselfly, a real one this time, though he looked like a jewel from the breast of some Goddess's gown. He settled nearby and surveyed me with his all-seeing eyes as if waiting for an answer to a silent question- "So, what's it gonna be?" I was speechless, and had no answer. Soon a citron green female arrived and he took wing, joining in the dance of mating with her mid-flight, their bodies forming a lopsided open heart. They parted and departed, returning to whatever world they came from, leaving me alone and bewildered in a brand new world with a brand new point of view. This was my initiation into the spiritual world and a reintroduction to feelings long-forgotten- I'm only just beginning to explore the shadowy world I was let into, but Beauty hides in the Darkness also, and I hope to share it as I record my discoveries in "The Book Of Ronin". Hope this gave inspiration to someone. 🙏🕊🌒🌕🌘💙 Namaste.
I think it's important for a psychotherapist to be authentic and to say what he/she means without being mean. When I practiced substance use counseling, I often had to confront people's thoughts, attitudes etc that could easily create a relapse. In AA people don't play patty cake because they know that this illness can lead to death, jail, and/or institutions Recovery is a spiritual journey that requires rigorous honesty with one's self and others. I am very blessed to be part of a spiritual support group. In this group, we can share anything including our encounter with the numinous, our dreams as well as past traumas and the journey of healing we have undertaken.
That sounds like just what I am looking for. I have been working with an online IFS group & I am wanting to find a group which has this kind of space for all the things! I can no longer deny that my post-traumatic growth has been a spiritual awakening all along, but that my rational brain was not ready to accept until now. IFS has let me trust that I can time travel & heal past selves & receive the gifts these selves have been waiting for me to be ready to receive. I have always been on my own side & I am ready to experience all that this means!
To respond to your (and, by extension, von Franz’) comment about Rogers and unconditional positive regard, the way you describe UPR is proof to me that either you haven’t read Rogers, or that you have misunderstood him. NEVER did he say that the therapist could or should have ‘one emotional tone’ in working with clients. In fact, quite the opposite. He said that the therapist will in fact have a range of emotions when working with clients, and that if any of these emotions is persistent in any given therapeutic relationship, the therapist ‘had better’ express it. The notion that UPR is somehow repackaged Christianity would I’m sure surprise and bother Rogers, since he was not a practicing Christian and considered himself agnostic. Unconditional positive regard is not some kind of touchy-feely love-everybody notion, it simply means that, all else being equal, the therapist believes in the client’s innate power of growing into wholeness, a concept remarkably similar, in many ways, to Jung’s notion of individuation. Also the implication that person-centered therapy is not challenging, is similarly ill-informed. I would encourage, before you 3 Jungians pull out the stereotyped view of Rogers, that you ACTUALLY READ HIS WORK, CAREFULLY. You wouldn’t want Jung stereotyped, would you? OK, give Rogers the same respect please.
ALL CAPS IS THE SAME AS SHOUTING AT PEOPLE
Hey guys-This episode is amazing! I truly enjoyed it. Everything from the guest speakers and their questions to the content itself and the dreams that were interpreted.. It blew me away (in a good way) 😂 Now you might think I’m just trying to butter you up for this next request, but I Promise, it’s merely a coincidence. 😉 I was wondering if you would like to do an episode on “Personalization”? I watched your “Literalism” episode last night after I read a post my cousin made on Instagram and found myself taking it so incredibly personal that I had to take a step back and say “What the!? Why am I taking this post so literally to think that he’s posted it to me and at me??” Then I realized how often I take everything around me personally and because of my inner-work has gotten so close to and involved with the unconscious (and the “magic mirror” effect) I often fall into this trap of thinking that every little thing someone does or says is a direct reflection of my personal Being. It’s really tricky and I was hoping you might agree that it would make for a good topic! Either way-Cheers!
Niceianity - So great! From Minnesota - I got the double dose. Best therapist I ever had, that started ion the path of reducing my anxiety so I could sleep and study...1975 University of Utah - Dr.Hershgold volunteered for free to help students. For the first three weeks he continued to refuse to accept what I was telling him. He said "bullshit" after pretty much every single thing I said. This gave me emotional traction...Radcal self honesty with radical self acceptance - that is what he taught me - Unconditional love is what dogs give us - To be a man - I had leave my dog behind. I tried to become the man my dog thought I was. Worked out pretty well actually.
This is a very important lecture.
This podcast could be a lesson to be explored in a psychoanalytic school! A whole semester! Or a course!
I hope they take you seriously and expand on this, there is not a single point in this discussion that isn't worthy of an indepth exploration (and accompanying podcast episodes, of course).
Yep just discovering this gem now! Caring for Jesus within me has saved my mental and physical health. Caring for the Christ in me has raised my consciousness and allowed my soul to blossom and feel empowered to be an overcomer of suffering, fear and obstacles. I am so grateful for Emmanuel. He is alive in our bodies and is the way to safely encounter the inner primal nature in the unconscious which can be terrifying at times. But the Logos makes me make sense...Christ is the logic of being a human
Ask the Mother to show you the clues and crumbs she Consciously left for you to reveal themselves; the mystery of the obvious waits to be invited. And.... there is a living Seer who offers exponential numbers of words and phrases from the Infinite that replace that noise of over-polarized structure while filling the numinous structures with pure innocence. "No mistakes, my children." Thank you so much.
It was mentioned that Jung said to "never make a career out of your inferior functio." Pretty sure I'm a feeling type, yet am about to graduate with my bachelors in electrical engineering. Always loved math and sciences but recently discovered my disgust with how alienating the work culture is. Any help or advice with how to cope? Devastatingly scared about losing myself in the next 40 years. Thanks
Hi Blake, my first thought is to suggest listening closely to your dreams. I wish you all the best on your journey! I imagine there are many ways that electrical engineering would benefit from a feeling person as yourself.
Hi Blake, my partner started off As a engineer, but found the same things as you, he went and became A sales engineer , which suited his personality better but with all the engineering background, which held him in good stead and able to give alot of expertise to the job.
Use your skills in service to the feeling function rather than allowing the aspirational nature of the inferior function to usurp it. The cold reason of engineering can be a very useful sidekick for the feeling hero, allowing him access to areas of life he otherwise could not enter. Use it as a way to interpret values into an amoral structure. I'm kinda going through a process like that myself as an INFJ (and schizoid) after a lifetime of repression of my natural functions, and it is excruciatingly tedious and painful. New construction with clean ideas and fresh materials is so much more productive than remodelling a shaky old structure with frayed wiring- study your own blueprint and understand your purpose so that everything you learn and do remains true to it ; only you can determine what that means. Hope that helps.
It's Thanksgiving Day 2023 and I'm taking notes. I MUST learn more about MLvF's ideas!
Western culture had it's known ethnogenic sacred traditions that were taken away from us by church and state. Look at the ancient Greek Eleusinian Mystery Festival, which was attended by thousands of people who traveled from far and wide to attend.
I appreciate this video so much🥰🙏💜✌️💫
Regarding the first question, I would reframe that question in the terms of how to stay in touch with our feelings when we are overwhelmed as a result of facing the real dire situation of our world, regardless of how we recieve that information. Prehaps, the fact that we have been trained to be so rational about life we are using that function to rationalize the destruction of the planet, etc so how can we reroute that rationalizing tendency and get back intouch with our feelings and enable ourselves to really do something about the problemsin the world and make a positive change? How do we mobilize our feelings?
Love the way you summed that up as an action-oriented question, I think (hope) it expresses the real reasons we all chose to listen, and I hope it's heard and answered with the depth of attention it deserves ('cause, damn, look around!). As a schizoid INFJ my life has been an example of what happens when attachment trauma, invalidation, and abuse cause the natural (feeling) functions to be repressed/dissociated or co-opted by trauma. I was forced into survival mode at a very young age and denied outlets for my natural expression, so adopted the hyper-rational and self-sufficient perspective as a way to avoid hurt and "forget" my pain. I locked my fragmented young self into a private Limbo, that rational shell left outside with the key to guard against intrusion; but something in that key called out in a barely detectable whisper, and it was answered by evocative music and literature that spoke in resonating tones that soothed with familiarity and taught me (the guardian) a subconscious language to address those exiled parts- that key is the pain and dissappointment of my childhood. In September of 2022 the stress of a stark half-life, a series of losses and betrayals, and a confrontation with a person who challenged my earliest wounds triggered an experience that plunged me spontaneously into that Underworld- my early history played out before me as a "fantasy" narrative accompanied by the Dio song "Don't Talk To Strangers" , representing the lullaby that had cursed my child self to silence in the crib. I was shown images and concepts that were spoken of in this podcast- a Temple that I would help build, a bridge between worlds, and a community of wise teachers and students that would grow up around it, the power that will allow me to create Beauty from Darkness itself if I find the answers hidden in the shadows. I'm still here exploring this place, familiarizing myself with the pale spirits wandering among unmarked gravestones and exhuming the ones buried half-alive in shallow graves. I, Ronin, hear their stories and tattoo them on the page, on my skin, with a Raven Quill to absorb their essence and give them life and voice through me, so their lessons can be heard by others. I wrote my first ever post for public consumption on Christmas Eve a year ago with only sporadic and perfunctory use of writing before. I now sharpen my quill daily in these forums- I will write and publish my story, my discoveries, and my ideas from my lifetime of experience, in hopes that they can help bring a new perspective and positive change into the world and that we can heal together. That's one example of an answer to your question and I hope it helps inspire you to find your own- they're hiding in our shadows, where we put them for safekeeping. Carpè Noctum. Nihil ausus, nihil mutatum. 🕊🙏💙 Namaste.😊
yes we do
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Is it true that those who live an average lifestyle that then find use in denying pathology (in the name of individuation) do struggle to remain integrated in society itself?
Feelings are to do with the Heart Chakra, whereas emotions are to do with the Solar Plexus Chakra. Each of our Chakras operates in a different way from all the other Chakras. Both the Heart and the Solar Plexus Chakras operate in a powerful way, but very often our Solar Plexus emotions predominate - it takes subtlety, sensitivity and a certain refinement to identify the feelings of the Heart Chakra, which are so different from the more immediate and often overpowering personal emotions of the Solar Plexus Chakra. It is the feelings of the Heart Chakra which take us into the realms of the impersonal, the intangible, the universal, the genuinely compassionate - into the areas which this video attempts to explain as "spiritual". Rather than attempting to explain things academically, it would be good to do a study of our different main Chakras and the specific characteristics of each.
I disagree with Jung's idea that a pyschedelic experience meant that whatever you came back with was "unearned." The choice to embark on that journey through the psyche and what it has to show you, to be willing to take the risk, that is what makes it earned. He would never say such a thing about dreams(brought on by similar chemical activity in the brain) and as someone that's had a few experiences on LSD, I can tell you that it is beyond what a dream is and yet quite dream-like in certain ways. I also find it difficult to take this idea seriously due to the fact that he never experienced it and yet insisted on experience as being crucial. This idea also leans towards a sort of 'gatekeeping,' as if to proclaim that "your experience doesn't count, but mine does." That's a very myopic way of thinking in my opinion.
Jonah is about the ability for us to all return to God's grace. God wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh and tell them to repent, but Jonah wanted to see God's vengeance enacted upon them so he resisted God's instructions. God closed every path to Jonah but to do what God wanted which was for Nineveh to repent and be forgiven.
When I experience the trans personal I see that ‘life’ or consciousness is not able to find a mirror to reflect itself. Life /consciousness doesn’t see the individual value of each person in that living and dying. Consciousness has no value if ten million people/animals die or 80 million live. But as a human we do have that as a value.. death is meant to matter..we think and rationalise that living matters. But consciousness doesn’t have a value. As humans we live unconsciously to the paradox of life and death. In many ways suffer from not knowing consciousness.
Did Marie believe in the Christian God?