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Depth Calls to Depth: Jungian Psychology and Spiritual Direction in Dialogue draws on the author's dual background as a certified Jungian analyst and psychologist as well as a spiritual director with a master's degree in theology. Over the last several decades, spiritual direction has moved beyond its monastic origins to become a major force in contemporary spirituality. Its emphasis on direct spiritual experience offers a natural parallel to Jung's model of psychospiritual healing.
This book describes how Jungian dreamwork can enhance the practice of spiritual direction. There is much interest in Jung's thought in spiritual circles but little informed understanding of the details of his model and its application to work with individuals. In an effort to meet this need, chapters alternate between descriptions of Jung's approach, augmented by extensive case material and accounts of spiritual direction sessions. In this way, the book combines a comprehensive summary of Jung's main ideas and methodologies with vignettes that illustrate their practical application. Larger issues regarding the relationship between psychology and spirituality are discussed as well as Jung's complicated relationship with the Christian tradition. The author's background in Ignatian spirituality and the work of mystics like Meister Eckhart allow him to demonstrate how these approaches can bridge gaps between the Christian and Jungian models of spiritual growth. Parallels to 12-Step spirituality also are explored.
Table of Contents
¿¿ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 1
CREDITS 3
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 5
CHAPTER 2 UNLESS AN EGG FALLS TO THE GROUND 19
CHAPTER 3 IS NOT/IS TOO: SPIRITUALITY AND PSYCHOLOGY I 33
CHAPTER 4 FINDING GOD IN THE DITCH 47
CHAPTER 5 BRIDGING THE CHASM: SPIRITUALITY AND PSYCHOLOGY II 61
CHAPTER 6 UP POPS THE DEVIL 83
CHAPTER 7 BUT IT FEELS SO TRUE: COMPLEXES, PROJECTIONS, AND VAMPIRES 97
CHAPTER 8 WRESTLING IN THE DARK 119
CHAPTER 9 THE ME I DO NOT WANT TO BE: JUNG'S CONCEPT OF THE SHADOW 133
CHAPTER 10 IN THE NIGHT KITCHEN 159
CHAPTER 11 INTIMATE STRANGERS AND THE INNER OTHER 183
CHAPTER 12 NOT BAD FOR A BAPTIST BOY 215
CHAPTER 13 THE SELF: WHOLENESS AS RELATIONSHIP 237
CHAPTER 14 SPACE ALIENS AND DISH DRYERS 269
CHAPTER 15 JUNG AND THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION: IMPLICATIONS FOR SPIRITUAL DIRECTION 297
CHAPTER 16 THE SPIRITUAL PATH: JUNGIAN AND CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVES 323
CHAPTER 17 EPILOGUE 353
DREAM 1 355
DREAM 2 359
BIBLIOGRAPHY 367
About the author
John Ensign, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and a Jungian analyst with more than four decades of clinical experience across a wide range of settings and treatment areas. He is also a spiritual director with extensive training in Ignatian spirituality and holds a master's degree in theology. In addition to his wide studies in Christian spirituality, he has a longtime interest in the relationship between Eastern and Western contemplative practices and works with individuals from multiple traditions. He is an analyst member of the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco and has a private practice in Davis, California.
