Depth Calls to Depth: Spiritual Direction and Jungian Psychology in Dialogue

A recurrent theme throughout Jung’s life was his deep engagement with the Christian tradition and the Christ-image, which he saw as the primary symbol of the Self in Western culture. Surprisingly, this crucial dimension of his work is largely missing from contemporary Jungian discourse. By contrast, there is much interest in Jung within progressive Christian circle but little deep understanding of his thought and ways that it stands in tension with traditional Christian belief. This course seeks to address this disconnect by bringing these two perspectives into dialogue, while also exploring Jung’s complicated relationship with the Christian tradition. We will examine areas of alignment and divergence between these two visions of the spiritual path in the context of major Jungian concepts such as the shadow, the inner other or anima/animus, and the Self. Our discussion will be informed by the Christian mystical tradition and works of Christian imagination like Dante’s The Divine Comedy. In terms of clinical application, we will explore how religious imagery surfaces in dreams over the course of sustained engagement with the unconscious, including dreams of individuals seeking to come to terms with limiting religious backgrounds and form a more mature relationship with the Holy