Tag Archives: Behavior

Most pornography—the books discussed here cannot be excepted—points to something more general than even sexual damage. I mean the traumatic failure of modern capitalist society to provide authentic outlets for the perennial human flair for high-temperature visionary obsessions, to satisfy the appetite for exalted self-transcending modes of concentration and seriousness. The need of human beings to transcend “the personal” is no less profound than the need to be a person, an individual. But this society serves that need poorly. It provides mainly demonic vocabularies in which to situate that need and from which to initiate action and construct rites of behavior.

Georges Bataille, Story of the Eye [Amazon, Amazon, Bookshop, Publisher, Local Library]

Hermetic quote Bataille Story of the Eye pornography traumatic failure capitalist society authentic outlets human flair visionary obsessions self-transcending demonic vocabularies

This is why religion can only be advice and clarification, and cannot carry any spurs of enforcement—for only belief and behavior that is independently arrived at, and then chosen, can be praised or blamed.

Tim Powers, The Anubis Gates

Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales

Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales by Marie-Louise von Franz, a C G Jung Foundation book, a 1995 revised edition paperback from Shambhala Publications, is part of the collection at the Reading Room.

Marie-Louise von Franz Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales from Shambhala Publications

“Fairy tales seem to be innocent stories, yet they contain profound lessons for those who would dive deep into their waters of meaning. In this book, Marie-Louise von Franz uncovers some of the important lessons concealed in tales from around the world, drawing on the wealth of her knowledge of folklore, her experience as a psychoanalyst and a collaborator with Jung, and her great personal wisdom. Among the many topics discussed in relation to the dark side of life and human psychology, both individual and collective, are:
· How different aspects of the “shadow”—all the affects and attitudes that are unconscious to the ego personality—are personified in the giants and monsters, ghosts, and demons, evil kings and wicked witches of fairy tales
· How problems of the shadow manifest differently in men and women
· What fairy tales say about the kinds of behavior and attitudes that invite evil
· How Jung’s technique of Active imagination can be used to overcome overwhelming negative emotions
· How ghost stories and superstitions reflect the psychology of grieving
· What fairy tales advise us about whether to struggle against evil or turn the other cheek ” — back cover


Maybe off-topic, but synchronistic: Two recent articles seem to connect over Self-Blame in New Age and in Self-Help

Maybe off-topic, but synchronistic: Two recent articles seem to connect over Self-Blame in New Age at “New Age Bullies” by Julia Ingram (via Bethany Moore) and in Self-Help at “Self-Blame and Self-Help” by Ofer Sharone (via Tikkun)

“During my 36 years as a psychotherapist, I’ve seen many clients who have been victims of people like those Hannah and my friend describe. I call them New Age Bullies — those who, sometimes with the best intentions, repeat spiritual movement shibboleths, with little understanding of how hurtful their advice can be. Some of their favorite clichés are:

It happened for a reason.
Nobody can hurt you without your consent.
I wonder why you created this illness (or experience).
It’s just your karma.
There are no accidents.
There are no victims.
There are no mistakes.

A variant of this behavior is found in the self-bullying people who blame themselves for being victims of a crime, accident, or illness and interpret such misfortunes as evidence of their personal defects or spiritual deficiencies.” — Julia Ingram [via]

“Beyond subjective pain and job search discouragement, the most significant effect of self-blame is that it inhibits our collective capacities to imagine and seek transformative possibilities. The self-help description of reality fills our imaginations with highly individualized images, and obscures the larger context. It misses the fact that even if every American job seeker mastered the art of self-presentation, there would still be a wide disparity between the number of job seekers and the jobs available, as well as extreme scarcity of jobs that offer meaning and security. A real solution must be collective in nature.” — Ofer Sharone [via]