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Carolyn and Ernest Fay Series in Analytical Psychology
Freude, Inspiration, Hoffnung
German
197 pages, Perfect Paperback
First published April 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 6, 2021
The way the book was written reminds me of a research text. Though interesting, i found it focusing deeply on Joy, Inspiration and Hope. Mostly on Hope and the views of other researchers.
I am curious to read it again and give it more thought after some time.
All in all, it is good to know that joy and the state of happiness should be looked into by therapists, as they look into sadness and depression, and trauma.
I am curious to read it again and give it more thought after some time.
All in all, it is good to know that joy and the state of happiness should be looked into by therapists, as they look into sadness and depression, and trauma.
May 24, 2021
We risk our lives in order to feel alive," states Swiss Jungian psychotherapist, author and professor of psychology at the University of Zurich, Dr. Verena Kast. Proposing a new approach to healing, she suggests we not painfully track our devastation. Instead, we are to ask ourselves: How can I get my joy back? How do I retrieve this biogenetic inheritance, intrinsically mine?
This book reminds me of a story of a young woman who escaped a terrible trauma in the southern U.S. which hurt her so badly that when she staggered into a New York bus depot she collapsed and was taken to hospital. She could barely speak for weeks. A psychologist employed a technique of which Dr. Kast would heartily approve: she asked her client to name one thing that made her feel happy...just one. The young woman replied that she knew for certain that she liked chocolate. Her love of chocolate then, became the foundation for her on-going recovery.
Dr. Kast suggests that it is the search for joy that both motivates and sustains us despite the traumas of life. She says this search "...is based in the realm of the nurturing mother archetype" (in contrast to that of the father archetype wherein we analyze our difficulties in order to be more conscious of them.)
The argument of this text is that "we are not only flung into life, as the emotion of anxiety suggests, but we are also carried by life." In tracking our lost joy we must steadfastly avoid alluring imitations that ultimately disappoint, such as the ecstatic yet brief burst of joy gleaned from dependencies on drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling, competition, power, control and prestige. These escapes establish further sub-dominances of cruelty such as sadism. Kast describes a subtle avoidance of joy:
"Many people say `Do I have the right to rejoice when everything is so bad in the world?'
I have also heard this subtle form of sadism expressed in a slightly different way: `Not only do you speak about joy; you even take shameless delight in it. Meanwhile, the world is coming apart at the seams.' Less subtly stated, a sadistic commandment lurks in the background: "Thou shalt not rejoice" as if to imply that only a disgraceful human being is capable of rejoicing. When we think of how vitalizing joy actually is, this prohibition of joy because of the terrible state of the world proves to be sadistic. We are outraged by brutal sadists, but we need to keep an eye out for the subtle sadists as well."
Kast explains that in order to steadfastly pursue joy, and keep it, we must employ hope. The way to contain our joy over the long haul involves a willingness to behave as though there is, in fact, something better.
This better is what Kast believes to be holiness and she names it `hope'.
Eleanor Cowan, author of : A History of a Pedophile's Wife: Memoir of a Canadian Teacher and Writer
This book reminds me of a story of a young woman who escaped a terrible trauma in the southern U.S. which hurt her so badly that when she staggered into a New York bus depot she collapsed and was taken to hospital. She could barely speak for weeks. A psychologist employed a technique of which Dr. Kast would heartily approve: she asked her client to name one thing that made her feel happy...just one. The young woman replied that she knew for certain that she liked chocolate. Her love of chocolate then, became the foundation for her on-going recovery.
Dr. Kast suggests that it is the search for joy that both motivates and sustains us despite the traumas of life. She says this search "...is based in the realm of the nurturing mother archetype" (in contrast to that of the father archetype wherein we analyze our difficulties in order to be more conscious of them.)
The argument of this text is that "we are not only flung into life, as the emotion of anxiety suggests, but we are also carried by life." In tracking our lost joy we must steadfastly avoid alluring imitations that ultimately disappoint, such as the ecstatic yet brief burst of joy gleaned from dependencies on drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling, competition, power, control and prestige. These escapes establish further sub-dominances of cruelty such as sadism. Kast describes a subtle avoidance of joy:
"Many people say `Do I have the right to rejoice when everything is so bad in the world?'
I have also heard this subtle form of sadism expressed in a slightly different way: `Not only do you speak about joy; you even take shameless delight in it. Meanwhile, the world is coming apart at the seams.' Less subtly stated, a sadistic commandment lurks in the background: "Thou shalt not rejoice" as if to imply that only a disgraceful human being is capable of rejoicing. When we think of how vitalizing joy actually is, this prohibition of joy because of the terrible state of the world proves to be sadistic. We are outraged by brutal sadists, but we need to keep an eye out for the subtle sadists as well."
Kast explains that in order to steadfastly pursue joy, and keep it, we must employ hope. The way to contain our joy over the long haul involves a willingness to behave as though there is, in fact, something better.
This better is what Kast believes to be holiness and she names it `hope'.
Eleanor Cowan, author of : A History of a Pedophile's Wife: Memoir of a Canadian Teacher and Writer
February 8, 2012
Much of the middle is preoccupied with the joy of children and why "we" can't freely empathize with their elation.
By "we," the author means adults, but I don't identify with this and think that tendency / view of children is cultural.
So much of psychology is culture-centric.
Overall something between literary and psychology; not very scientific; mostly just speculative/ musings/ reflections.
It is true that most of psychology focuses on disorder, anxiety, and other negative emotions. This belongs with positive psychology. Not sure where it stands/ what influence it has had within that.
good parts: the distinction between expectation, hope, and anxiety. All varieties of the same emotion, but expectation or anxiety the more useless forms.
a biography of joy- to remember what brought you joy. a different way of looking at your past. construct an emotional history: the emotions you felt in childhood, 20's, 40's. In this way you can discover your predominant emotions. Some people really do have more of one emotion than another, and this is evident in certain people who have clearly much of one emotion-- such as those who are consistently moody/ sullen.
By "we," the author means adults, but I don't identify with this and think that tendency / view of children is cultural.
So much of psychology is culture-centric.
Overall something between literary and psychology; not very scientific; mostly just speculative/ musings/ reflections.
It is true that most of psychology focuses on disorder, anxiety, and other negative emotions. This belongs with positive psychology. Not sure where it stands/ what influence it has had within that.
good parts: the distinction between expectation, hope, and anxiety. All varieties of the same emotion, but expectation or anxiety the more useless forms.
a biography of joy- to remember what brought you joy. a different way of looking at your past. construct an emotional history: the emotions you felt in childhood, 20's, 40's. In this way you can discover your predominant emotions. Some people really do have more of one emotion than another, and this is evident in certain people who have clearly much of one emotion-- such as those who are consistently moody/ sullen.
July 22, 2018
Psychological exploration that seeks to place joy inspiration and hope on par with anxiety and depression. She posits that the absence of anxiety does not lead automatically to joy, but rather these positive emotions need to be cultivated.
This book, written in 1991, serves as a basis for Seligman’s and Cszsnikmihalyi’s positive psychology revolution in 2000.
This book, written in 1991, serves as a basis for Seligman’s and Cszsnikmihalyi’s positive psychology revolution in 2000.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews