‘The Diamond Heart – Interiority, Symbols, Soul and Presence.
Presented by Julienne McLean
This talk by Julienne McLean explores key themes and papers from her book, The Diamond Heart: Jungian Psychology and the Christian Mystical Tradition (2023).
Beginning with the ancient Christian understanding of interiority in the writings of the fifth-century theologian and philosopher St Augustine of Hippo, Julienne traces how C.G. Jung’s map of the soul can be understood as a modern continuation of this contemplative tradition, a path of interiority leading towards self-knowledge, psychological wholeness, and spiritual transformation.
The talk explores central Jungian themes, including the integration of the shadow, the structure and function of symbols of transformation, and the process of individuation. Julienne then examines major symbols from the sixteenth-century Christian mystical classic, The Interior Castle by St Teresa of Ávila: the castle, garden, water, fountains, and butterfly, revealing their rich psychological and spiritual significance.
The presentation concludes with reflections from the twentieth-century writer and theologian Thomas Merton on the mystery of Presence at the centre of the human soul.
Recorded 2026 in London, U.K.
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Bio: Julienne McLean practices as a psychologist, Jungian analyst and training supervisor in north London, as well as being a spiritual director and retreat conductor. She has been in private practice for more than 30 years. She has had a lifelong involvement in the Christian contemplative tradition, with a particular interest in the relationship between modern depth psychology and thelogica mystica. She has taught on The Jungian Analytic Training for Qualified Psychotherapists, organised by A.J.A. London, at St Mary’s University, Strawberry Hill, London and Sarum College, Salisbury, where she is a Visiting Scholar in Christian Spirituality. Since 2018, she has been involved with the Centre for Applied Carmelite Spirituality (www.oxcacs.org), as a lecturer and accompanier on the Carmelite Spiritual Direction Formation Programme. She has published many papers and is the author of ‘Towards Mystical Union: A Modern Commentary on the Mystical Text ‘The Interior Castle’ by St Teresa of Avila and ‘The Diamond Heart: Jungian Psychology and the Christian Mystical Tradition’.
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