Jung and Reich: The Body as Shadow

by John P. Conger

Although contemporaries, Carl Jung and Wilhelm Reich, two giants in the field of psychoanalysis, never met. What might have happened if they had is the inspiration behind this detailed investigation. Jung and Reich succinctly outlines each man's personality and compares their lives and their work, emphasizing points of convergence between them. John Conger provocatively puts Jung's mystical and psychological approach to spiritual disciplines on the same plane as Reich's controversial theories of "genitality" and character armor. The result is a heady "what if?" bound to intrigue and inspire readers.

Genres: Psychology, Psychoanalysis

222 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb book! A must read to anybody interested in Jung and/or Reich. It connects nicely the Jungian approach and Reichian one. It is a first time I see a book these two. I feel a connection to both approaches, but haven’t seen so far a connection between the two schools. In Jung’s approach there will be a talk of archetypes, personal journeys, various mythical and metaphysical elements, occult, alchemy. But somehow, there won’t be much talk about the body. It is visual and verbal, various imagery and symbols. But not much about the body. Sort of mental and abstract.

Reich’s approach makes a lot of sense to me, but in his approach there won't be any talk about mythology, the archetypes that the person is living, the journey the person is on, etc.

In the Body circles, the myth is rarely discussed. In the Myth circles, the body is rarely discussed. In Myth circles, you will discuss archetypes, tarot, mythology, symbols, artwork, occult, ceremonies, etc. Its very high level, abstract, in a way. In the Body circles you will discuss grounding, working with energy and energy blocks, energy flow, and of course the body. There is not much intersection between the two. People that talk about the Tarot will rarely talk about energy blocks in the body. Is it me or have you too noticed the divide? Maybe people find themselves in one of these schools, based on their personalities. Some people are more kinesthetic and body oriented. Others are more mental and prefer philosophizing and theory.

So reading this book is fascinating to me, as this is really the first time I see these two fathers, so to speak, being discussed and compared. On a personal level of their professional and personal journeys, and on the level of similarities of their theories. The author draws parallels between their lives and their work. And it is interesting to see that even though they both had completely different focus when they started, they still sort of intersect in their conclusions. Its like they both spoke about the same thing just from different angles.

[Adriana Scarpin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Precisando reler, pois hoje em dia sei muito mais a respeito de Jung e Reich para dar um parecer mais razoável.

[John Kemp]

As so often, modern psychology elaborates an age-old initiatory principle pithily expressed by the German poet Novalis: the outer world is the inner world in a state of mystery. The door to transcendence nevertheless swings both ways and that dialogue is the alchemical work itself. Jung and Reich embodied its opposed aspects, the one, through intense spiritual crisis driven to create physical projections of his own process, the other, defiantly materialist, winding up crucified (through his own strong identification with the Christ archetype) on the cross of matter. Of the two Reich is the more awkward to assimilate: his orgone experiments neither proved nor, it seems, conclusively disproved, his paranoid war against authority still holding the germ of potential future heresies...

[culley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a curious book. It is perhaps ultimately a history book, with an imaginative thoughtfulness around blending the ideas and techniques of Jung and Reich. Perhaps nothing could be more appropriate? Are Jung and Reich shadow figures for each other? The final two chapters provide the original content of this book, separate from the historical musings. Informative and interesting! All we can really do is project when it comes to history. Conger has done his research and has an interesting perspective. His projections and speculations about Jung and Reich are worth reading.