The Feminine In Jungian Psychology And In Christian Theology

The Feminine in Jungian Psychology and in Christian Theology investigates the implications for Christian theology of Jung's special insights into the feminine. In it, Ann Belford Ulanov gathers together in one volume what Jung and Jungians have discovered about the feminine in order to explore what Jungian thought and methods may illuminate about the place of the feminine in Christian theology. Jung focuses on the human person and sees as central its mixture of masculine and feminine elements. In a time when so much is asserted and written about women in society--their rights, roles, identities, needs, and contributions--it is especially significant that Jung asserts the existence of the feminine as a key element, not only in women but in men as well. No less contested are the roles and identities of Christians. Ulanov brings into focus the deep and fascinating connections between theology and psychology.

We live in a time of unparalleled opportunity for women and a time, just because of that opportunity, of great stress. It is a time when every woman can find her own particular style, to develop her skills, to acknowledge her needs and failures, and to claim both her satisfactions and dissatisfactions. The old stereotypes are all but dead. But another danger threatens; of new stereotyped roles for women in the very range of choices and opportunities presented to the RECEIVING WOMAN grew out of a decade of reflections on women's experiences - my own, my patients', and my students', writes Professor Ulanov. From all of them, a common voice emerged speaking about each woman's struggle to receive all of herself. Each was trying to find and put together different parts of herself into a whole that was personal, alive, and real to her and to others.

PSYCHOLOGY/POP PSYCHOLOGY

In exploring the Divine Feminine imaged in Mary, When Mary Becomes Cosmic opens us to another way to honor hernot unlike the mystics, who have traveled along this way to the depthsand helps us to explore the richness that lies in what Jung referred to as the Catholic Church's treasury of image and metaphor. The archetypal images found in the ancient and treasured "Litany of Loreto" form the framework for this book, and enriched with quotes from a variety of spiritual writers, Richo guides us through reflections on: "Who is Mary?" and "What is the Divine Feminine?" Finally, in the appendix, "A Retreat with Mary," the author encourages prayer with suggestions for various ways of praying with music, art, movement, silence, etc., as well as "being" with the image of Mary.

The spiritual power of the Feminine shines forth in this psychological study of four Old Testament heroines from Jesus’ family tree. Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba are the only women mentioned by name in the Gospels’ genealogies and, for Ann Belford Ulanov, this indicates that they impart something essential to the lineage of Christ. By exploring their brave and unconventional lives, she demonstrates how salvation enters the world in the feminine mode of being human, through these women’s embodiment of such powerful and deeply feminine qualities as ingenuity, audacity, determination, compassion, seduction, and devotion. “Like bolts of lightning, the stories of these outcast virgins illuminate what spiritual wholeness can be in the lives of contemporary women and men. Ann Ulanov’s riveting insights into their daring acts reveal their deep significance in the genealogy of Jesus and expand our understanding of the words courage and love.” — Marion Woodman, author of Addiction to Perfection and Leaving my Father’s House

In Religion and the Unconscious, Ann and Barry Ulanov provide a thoughtful study of the relationship between religion and depth psychology. An insightful contribution to the entire area of pastoral counseling, this book demonstrates how to combine religion and depth psychology in order to provide more effective counseling.

Ann Belford Ulanov submits that we have all painted our own pictures of God. Most of them were formed in early childhood and now lie buried in our unconscious selves. Even though we may be unaware of our images of God, they play an active, sometimes harmful role in our spiritual development. Picturing God demonstrates the importance of confronting our unconscious selves and allowing our images of God – both positive and negative – to surface. Such inner exploration reveals not only relevant insights about ourselves, but also pulls us beyond our private pictures of God toward a truer view of the living God. Picturing God shows us how to explore our unconscious selves and how this spiritual exercise can change the whole of our lives: how we respond to God, how we relate to others, and how we view ourselves.

Jung, in contrast to Freud, has typically been considered more sympathetic to women largely because of his emphasis on the feminine as a way of being in the world and on the ‘anima’, the unconscious feminine aspect of male personality. Feminists, however, have viewed Jung’s whole notion of the ‘feminine’ with suspicion, seeing it as a projection of male psyche and not an authentic understanding of female humanity. For Demaris Wehr both feminism and Jungian psychology have been guiding forces, and in this book, originally published in 1988, she mediates between feminists and classical Jungians – two groups historically at odds. She faces squarely the male-centred assumptions of some Jungian concepts and challenges Jung’s claims for the universality and purely empirical basis of his work, but nevertheless maintains an appreciation for the value of Jung’s understanding of human nature and the process of individuation. By bringing the insights of feminist theology to bear on the seemingly unbridgeable gap between analytical psychology and feminism, she succeeds in reclaiming Jungian psychology as a freeing therapy for women and reveals it as the ultimately liberating vision its founder intended it to be.