7: Psyche and The Sacred. A conversation with Lionel Corbett.

Today’s conversation begins with Dr. Corbett’s analysis of the limitations of an exclusively biological mode of treating psychological issues. Lionel reframes one’s relationship to emotional symptoms away from the traditional models of modern psychopathology into a mode in which the symptom understood to be a signal for an aspect of life that is in need of attention. He defines complex and archetype, stating that the archetypes are analogous to the laws of physics. Lionel explores Jungian psychology as a psychospiritual therapy. Dr. Corbett offers his interpretation of The Book of Job from a Jungian lens, and he examines his history within Jungian psychology and the theory of psychoanalytical self-psychology. He recognizes the union between the personalitstic traditions (such as Kohut and Freud) and the archetypal traditions (Jung). We discuss consciousness and a few basic differences between dualistic and non-dual thinking. Dr. Corbett circles around the controversial and charged philosophical problem of defining consciousness. Bio: Lionel Corbett received his Medical Degree from the University of Manchester, England, in 1966; served as a military physician; and became a Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 1974. In the USA, he did fundamental research into the biochemistry of the brain; began one of the first programs in the psychology of aging; was a hospital medical director of in-patient psychiatry; trained as a Jungian analyst at the C. G. Jung Institute of Chicago 1978-1986; helped found a training program for Jungian analysts in Santa Fe, while carrying on a private practice and teaching psychiatry at the University of New Mexico. Dr. Corbett has studied various spiritual disciplines including Christian and Jewish mysticism, Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta, and Yoga and has had a personal meditation practice for 20 years. He now teaches depth psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute near Santa Barbara, California, where he founded the Psyche and the Sacred program, a highly successful series in its 5th year that integrates spirituality with depth psychology. This program has developed a powerful approach to spirituality that is based on personal experience of the sacred, avoiding all forms of doctrine and dogma. He is the author of 5 books, several training films, and over 40 professional articles. Publications Include: The essay Seduction, Psychotherapy, and the Alchemical Glutinum Mundiin the book Fire in the Stone: The Alchemy of Desire; Psyche and the Sacred: Spirituality Beyond Religion; The Sacred Cauldron: Psychotherapy as a Spiritual Practice; The Religious Function of the Psyche, and Soul in Anguish: Psychotherapeutic Approaches to Suffering. Courses taught in the Jungian and Archetypal Studies Specialization: Depth Psychology & the Sacred: Approaching the Numinous; Introduction to Depth Psychology https://www.pacifica.edu/faculty/lionel-corbett/ www.psycheandthesacred.org Music provided by: http://www.modernnationsmusic.com Learn more about this project at: http://www.thesacredspeaks.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesacredspeaks/