Category Archives: …and other stuff

miscellaneous postings by Lawrence R. Spencer

...and other stuff, FREE ADVICE, LIVES, PICTURE POEMS, POETIC NONSENSE, READING MATTER, UNIVERSES

TRANSFORMED

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THE MEETING

Carl Gustav Jung  ( 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961), was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist who founded analytical psychology. Jung proposed and developed the concepts of extraversion and introversion; archetypes, and the collective unconscious. His work has been influential in psychiatry and in the study of religion, philosophy, archeology, anthropology, literature, and related fields.  The central concept of analytical psychology is individuation – the psychological process of integrating the opposites, including the conscious with the unconscious, while still maintaining their relative autonomy. Jung considered individuation to be the central process of human development.

Jung created some of the best known psychological concepts including the archetype, the collective unconscious, the complex, and synchronicity.  Jung saw the human psyche as “by nature religious” and made this religiousness the focus of his explorations.  Jung’s work on himself and his patients convinced him that life has a spiritual purpose beyond material goals. Our main task, he believed, is to discover and fulfill our deep innate potential. Based on his study of Christianity,  Hinduism,  Buddhism,  Gnosticism, Taoism,  and other traditions, Jung believed that this journey of transformation, which he called individuation, is at the mystical heart of all religions. It is a journey to meet the self and at the same time to meet the Divine.  Jung’s pantheism may have led him to believe that spiritual experience was essential to our well-being, as he specifically identifies individual human life with the universe as a whole.

Jung recommended spirituality as a cure for alcoholism and he is considered to have had an indirect role in establishing Alcoholics Anonymous.  Jung proposed that art can be used to alleviate or contain feelings of trauma, fear, or anxiety and also to repair, restore and heal. In his work with patients and in his own personal explorations, Jung wrote that art expression and images found in dreams could be helpful in recovering from trauma and emotional distress. He often drew, painted, or made objects and constructions at times of emotional distress, which he recognized as more than recreational.

Jung’s interest in philosophy and the occult led many to view Jung as a mystic, although Jung’s ambition was to be seen as a man of science. His influence on popular psychology, the “psychologization of religion”, spirituality and the New Age movement has been immense.

...and other stuff, ART, LIVES, POETIC NONSENSE

MAE WEST: SEXUAL REVOLUTIONARY

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During a period of history when women were thought of a the “property” of men, Mae West refused to be bullied into silence and submission by the patriarchal society of American and the Hollywood film industry.  She used her wit, her talent and her sensuality to man-handle the oppression of the age and mold it to her will.  Women (and men) in the Western world owe Mae West a huge thanks for her fearless assault on the stupidity and suppression of society.

Here is a video composite of some of her famous one-liners from a few of her films:

Mary Jane West (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980),known as Mae West, was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades. Known for her bawdy double entendres, West made a name for herself in vaudeville and on the stage in New York before moving to Hollywood to become a comedienne, actress and writer in the motion picture industry. In consideration of her contributions to American cinema, the American Film Institute named West 15th among the greatest female stars of all time. One of the more controversial movie stars of her day, West encountered many problems, including censorship. When her cinematic career ended, she continued to perform on stage, in Las Vegas, in the United Kingdom, on radio and television, and recorded rock and roll albums.

Mae West was the first of force Hollywood film makers to allow African Americans to be featured in film.  She used her influence to introduce Duke Ellington and His Orchestra in her films.