James Hollis is a Jungian psychoanalyst and the author of many books, including his latest: "A Life of Meaning," which is the primary subject of our conversation. During our conversation, Jim talks about some of the major themes in his work and his book: the shadow, the numinous, psychopathology, lethargy, and fear.

Jim is one of my favorite writers and thinkers, and I reference him as much as anyone. This conversation is full of some of my favorite ideas and quotes, including this first one from his new book:

"Probably the wisest thing ever said about the shadow was uttered by the Roman African playwright Terence, who, a little over two thousand years ago, said, 'Nothing human is alien to me.'”

And the second from the writings of Carl Jung:

"The spirit of evil is negation of the life force by fear. Only boldness can deliver us from fear. If the risk is not taken, the meaning of life is violated."

------------

Support via Venmo

Support on Substack

Support on Patreon

------------

Rate on Spotify

Rate on Apple Podcasts

Social media and all episodes

------------

00:00 Intro

01:05 Why Jim wrote "A Life of Meaning"

05:28 The shadow

08:38 Why confront one's shadow?

10:48 The numinous and finding your calling

25:20 Lethargy is a threat to living

29:55 A modern culture of distraction

32:28 Jim's decision to become a public educator

37:02 Jim's growth beyond his family of origin

44:30 Psychopathology

48:26 Sin: missing the mark

55:15 Fear - the spirit of evil is negation of the life force by fear

58:50 Jim is a "recovering nice person"