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The Actor and the Witness

Dynamics of Discernment

In the Eye of the Storm

An individual response to the Global Crisis

ISSN 1939-3407

May 14, 2020

Ashok Bedi, M.D., Jungian Psychoanalyst

www.pathtotheosoul.com

www.tulawellnessllc.com

Robert BJ Jakala PH.D., Jungian Psychotherapist

In a storm, the safest place is in the eye of the storm. My colleague BJ and I will share our daily reflections on this centering process from an Analytical perspective, sharing from the repertoire of our personal and professional experience. BJ is a psychologist and a photographer and will pick an image of the day that catches him in this collective crisis. I will amplify it from a Jungian Analytical perspective. We hope that this may offer you a baby step on the path to your own unique response to this chaos.

The persona is a complicated system of relations between the individual consciousness and society, fittingly enough a kind of mask, designed on the one hand to make a definite impression upon others, and, on the other, to conceal the true nature of the individual. (Jung, 1956, p. 192)

I imagine the mind of the surfer to be preoccupied with keeping a sense of balance on the board as it moves along with the force of a wave. The immediate need of alignment with the oceanic energy is dominant. If he wants to wear the “mask” of a successful surfer, focus is on the present and his experience of having done this before.

How this looks to the other man in the water is probably not even in his awareness. I imagine the observer anticipates and hopes success. He not only sees how to do it but also feels joy when the surfer fully stands and rides the wave in (which happens). Unless of course, his […]

Adaptation to Crisis

Heroism or Love

In the Eye of the Storm

An individual response to the Global Crisis

ISSN 1939-3407

May 12, 2020

Ashok Bedi, M.D., Jungian Psychoanalyst

www.pathtotheosoul.com

www.tulawellnessllc.com

Robert BJ Jakala PH.D., Jungian Psychotherapist

In a storm, the safest place is in the eye of the storm. My colleague BJ and I will share our daily reflections on this centering process from an Analytical perspective, sharing from the repertoire of our personal and professional experience. BJ is a psychologist and a photographer and will pick an image of the day that catches him in this collective crisis. I will amplify it from a Jungian Analytical perspective. We hope that this may offer you a baby step on the path to your own unique response to this chaos.

The process of adaptation requires a directed conscious function characterized by inner consistency and logical coherence. Because it is directed, everything unsuitable must be excluded in order to maintain the integrity of direction. (Jung, 1960b, p. 35)

 
The image catches a bird’s take-off from the green fence post. As a photograph, my inner critic tells me several corrections. However, there is value of this moment, a moment I have never caught before or since. It is the opening of a sunlit wing.

The movement of the open wing gives the lift for flight. The feathers show beauty as well as function in the sunlight. Each of them works as a member of the wing team. Then the bird’s feet come off the post and are pulled close. There are so many ingredients that provide balance and movement into the air. Its natural pattern is alive and robust. It can move about freely to explore safe nesting habitats and food. It has a mission in mind as it […]

On Mother’s Day

Our Two Mothers

In the Eye of the Storm

An individual response to the Global Crisis

ISSN 1939-3407

May 10, 2020

Ashok Bedi, M.D., Jungian Psychoanalyst

www.pathtotheosoul.com

www.tulawellnessllc.com

Robert BJ Jakala PH.D., Jungian Psychotherapist

In a storm, the safest place is in the eye of the storm. My colleague BJ and I will share our daily reflections on this centering process from an Analytical perspective, sharing from the repertoire of our personal and professional experience. BJ is a psychologist and a photographer and will pick an image of the day that catches him in this collective crisis. I will amplify it from a Jungian Analytical perspective. We hope that this may offer you a baby step on the path to your own unique response to this chaos.

Like any other archetype, the mother archetype appears under an almost infinite variety of aspects. (Jung, 1934/1954/1968, p. 81)

 
The basket of sweets and adornments is used by a monk who comes daily to strip, clean, and re-dress the goddess Laxmi. “She is the most revered of the Hindu goddesses and unlocks our potential for peace, prosperity and plenty in our inner and outer life “.(Bedi, 2007) The basket holds a variety of ways to show love and gratitude for the blessings and stirrings.

I felt this image to be very appropriate for Mother’s Day because both the container and its contents are simple. Today is the celebration to honor and remember those who gave us life, and those whose gifts along the way may not have been pleasant to us, but necessary in their eyes.

The photo does not show the recipient but rather the offering and its container. It demonstrates and expresses feelings toward another for what has been received and encouraged.

As we honor the day […]

The Secret Ingredient

For Better or for Worse

In the Eye of the Storm

An individual response to the Global Crisis

ISSN 1939-3407

May 8, 2020

Ashok Bedi, M.D., Jungian Psychoanalyst

www.pathtotheosoul.com

www.tulawellnessllc.com

Robert BJ Jakala PH.D., Jungian Psychotherapist

In a storm, the safest place is in the eye of the storm. My colleague BJ and I will share our daily reflections on this centering process from an Analytical perspective, sharing from the repertoire of our personal and professional experience. BJ is a psychologist and a photographer and will pick an image of the day that catches him in this collective crisis. I will amplify it from a Jungian Analytical perspective. We hope that this may offer you a baby step on the path to your own unique response to this chaos.

The dream, we would say, originates in an unknown past of the psyche and prepares the dreamer for the events of the following day.(Jung, 1956, p. 7)

 
The vendor adds an ingredient to her fruit to make it tastier. Visually it is attractive and then her action invites curiosity. What is she adding? What does it do? How much does she add? The fruit is plain just like the bowl on the left, but she enhances the fruit in front of her. She finger-sprinkles it like magic fairy dust to change it. The bowl of fruit will not go back to its original flavor. It has absorbed her additional ingredients. The present bowl of fruit is what her buyers will know.

I see a dream as a parallel act. During the night, our dreams give us ingredients to carry with us into the next day. It We cannot go back and undo it any more than we can stop aging. We have today’s body with […]

In the Rear-View Mirror

Live in the Past or learn from it?

In the Eye of the Storm

An individual response to the Global Crisis

ISSN 1939-3407

May 6, 2020

Ashok Bedi, M.D., Jungian Psychoanalyst

www.pathtotheosoul.com

www.tulawellnessllc.com

Robert BJ Jakala PH.D., Jungian Psychotherapist

In a storm, the safest place is in the eye of the storm. My colleague BJ and I will share our daily reflections on this centering process from an Analytical perspective, sharing from the repertoire of our personal and professional experience. BJ is a psychologist and a photographer and will pick an image of the day that catches him in this collective crisis. I will amplify it from a Jungian Analytical perspective. We hope that this may offer you a baby step on the path to your own unique response to this chaos.

Between the conscious and the unconscious there is a kind of “uncertainty relationship,” because the observer is inseparable from the observed and always disturbs it by the act of observation. In other words, exact observation of the unconscious prejudices observation of the conscious and vice versa. (Jung & Hull, 1959/1968, p. 226)

There are times when reflection interferes with being fully present in the moment. The image shows how the rear-view mirror focus point interferes with the view of the road ahead. There are camera adjustments which will remedy that, but it takes some experimentation, and a willingness to get it right. My photos, like life, have an uncertainty about them. The challenge is to translate what I see/experience into a digital representation of it.

In this time of Covid-19, there are so many components to pay attention to. The personal, collective, social, political, financial, medical, and spiritual aspects collide, repel, and influence each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes, when uncertain, […]