Brian Collinson

Journeying Toward Wholeness

Entries Tagged as 'burlington'

Stress, Power, Resilience and Myth, Part 3: In Myself

October 31st, 2010 · 7 Comments · depth psychology, Identity, Individuation, inner life, Jungian analysis, Jungian psychology, personal myth, psychological crisis, Psychology and Suburban Life, psychotherapist, Psychotherapy, resilience, Self, soul, therapy, wholeness

In this post, I would like to try and say something about the places in which I believe I really found some sources of resilience. If I had to point to one single characteristic of this small group of therapists that helped me more than any other, it was this: they really, really knew how to listen. My therapeutic journey has enabled me, ultimately, to find a kind of acceptance of my life. Insofar as I can make any meaningful sense of psychologists’ use of the word “resilience”, this is it.

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G20 Toronto: What the Heck Just Happened?

July 6th, 2010 · No Comments · Carl Jung, collective consciousness, collective unconscious, complexes, Current Affairs, depth psychology, G20, Ontario, panic, popular culture, Psychology and Suburban Life, Toronto, Trauma, trust

On June 26 and 27, the leaders of the G20 nations and numerous other nations met in downtown Toronto.  For many living in this area, what happened in the course of those two days has something of the character of a nightmare in the collective psyche of the City of Toronto, and indeed, the whole of the [...]

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Trust and Betrayal

May 24th, 2010 · 1 Comment · betrayal, depth psychology, Individuation, psychological crisis, trust, wholeness

In my recent blog post on “Crisis“, I indicated that one of the gravest things that can happen to people is the experience of betrayal in those close relationships with others whom they trust deeply, and upon whom they depend.  I feel strongly that this is an area worth exploring further, and some of my readers have [...]

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Work and the Heart

May 15th, 2010 · 2 Comments · Hope, Identity, Jungian analysis, Psychology and Suburban Life, Psychotherapy, soul, Wellness, wholeness, work

An article from the Globe and Mail of 12 May 2010 , “Working regular overtime linked to increased heart attack risk” raises some very serious questions about the way that we’re living now: http://bit.ly/99TwPg The article cites a study published in the European Heart Journal, which finds that employees who regularly put in 11- to 12-hour days [...]

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Anxiety, Stress and Decisions

May 11th, 2010 · 3 Comments · Anxiety, decision, Individuation, midlife, Mississauga, Oakville, Psychology and Suburban Life, Psychotherapy, soul, unconscious, wholeness

A great deal of stress and anxiety in peoples’ lives is associated with making major decisions that deeply effect personal life.  Very often, people come into therapy because they are hung on the horns of a major dilemma, with a decision to be made between two or more possible decisions or paths to take. As [...]

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Crisis

May 8th, 2010 · No Comments · Anxiety, Carl Jung, collective unconscious, complexes, depression, depth psychology, Identity, Individuation, inner life, Jungian analysis, psychological crisis, Psychology, Psychology and Suburban Life, soul, stress

  Sometimes we can be overtaken by things that happen in the psyche.  Such events can leave a person in a very vulnerable place struggling with intense anxiety, depression or stress.  Often these psychic events are triggered by events in our outer lives.  Nonetheless, it is their psychological impact, the things that they cause to [...]

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Welcome to the New Home of “Vibrant Jung Thing!”

May 5th, 2010 · 2 Comments · Jungian analysis, Jungian psychology, life passages, Mississauga, Oakville, Psychology and Suburban Life, Psychotherapy

Dear Readers, With some great help, I’ve finally been able to move my blog onto my main website, which is something that I have been wanting to do for a very long time.  I hope that you will continue to read and enjoy my posts.  Having the blog on my main site makes it easier [...]

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The Symbolic Power of Home, Part 1: Michaelle Jean

March 16th, 2010 · 2 Comments · archetypes, Current Affairs, depth psychology, Home, Hope, Identity, Jungian analysis, Jungian psychology, Mississauga, Oakville, soul, suburbia / exurbia, symbolism, The Self

I think that many Canadians’ imagination and empathy has been caught by news stories of our Governor General, Michaelle Jean, who has been in the news here quite a bit this week. Her Excellency is herself a native of Haiti who came to Canada at age 11 in 1968.  In the last few days, she has returned [...]

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Anima, Women, Men and Marilyn Monroe

March 7th, 2010 · No Comments · Anima, collective consciousness, feminine, Film, masculine, popular culture, soul

   Few people have gripped the imagination of popular culture in the era since World War II like Marilyn Monroe.  An iconic and fateful figure for both women and men.  A figure combining elements of both the erotic goddess and the cautionary tale.  Her story is disturbing.  In some important sense, she will not leave [...]

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Here in the Middle Years of Life: Is That All There Is?

February 28th, 2010 · 2 Comments · Anxiety, depression, depth psychology, Hope, Identity, inner life, life passages, Meaning, midlife, Mississauga, Oakville, Psychotherapy, soul, stress, suburbia / exurbia, The Self, therapy

The great jazz artist Peggy Lee performed the following beautiful, highly disturbing yet haunting song in 1969, at midlife, in her 50th year:    I doubt that questions get much more real than those in this song.  And the question that Peggy Lee sings about here is of the type, that, for many people, can become achingly [...]

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