Gathering the Light

by Volodymyr Walter Odajnyk

This is a REVISED edition of Gathering the A Jungian View of Meditation
by V. Walter Odajnyk
with a Foreword by Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul Originally published by Shambhala in 1993, Gathering the Light is a significant contribution to Jungian psychology and to research concerning the relationship between psychological and spiritual development. Gathering the Light remains a groundbreaking work that integrates Jungian psychology, alchemy, and the practice of meditation. It is one of very few, if not the only Jungian book that demonstrates that the alchemical opus is not only an analogy of the individuation process, but also a depiction of various experiential stages encountered in the course of meditation. Gathering the Light compares Western and Eastern images of the goal of alchemy and of meditation practice; it offers a psychological interpretation of the Zen Ox Herding pictures; it argues that in essence both psychological and spiritual development consists of the withdrawal of projections; and the appendix offers a critique of Wilber's mistaken view of Jung's conception of archetypes and provides a critical review of Thomas Cleary's translation of The Secret of the Golden Flower.

264 pages, Paperback

First published July 27, 1993

Reviews

[Charlie Ehrbar · Rating 2 out of 5]

A crude introduction to the distinctions between Eastern and Western spirituality through the lens of Odajnyk's interpretation of Carl Jung's essays. Many of the chapters came across as ramblings because the author attempts to cover extremely broad topics such as "What is Meditation?" But because they're covering multiple religions' interpretations of these topics, ideas and terminologies are introduced just as quickly as they're forgotten, leading to an unusual pacing throughout the book. Despite this, the author covers a wide range of material well and his insights are digestible and enjoyable.