Aion
Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self, originally published in German in 1951, is one of the major works of Jung's later years. The central theme of the volume is the symbolic representation of the psychic totality through the concept of the Self, whose traditional historical equivalent is the figure of Christ. Jung demonstrates his thesis by an investigation of the Allegoria Christi, especially the fish symbol, but also of Gnostic and alchemical symbolism, which he treats as phenomena of cultural assimilation. The first four chapters, on the ego, the shadow, and the anima and animus, provide a valuable summation of these key concepts in Jung's system of psychology.
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- I read The Buddha: Biography of a Myth, by Donald S. Lopez after hearing him on Conversations With Tyler. That's probably my top non-fiction book this year. Key takeaway was that the history of Buddhism is incredibly deep. Two highlights: First, the Buddha said that minor rules could be disregarded after his passing, but the person that was informed of this forgot to ask for clarification of what rules were minor, so there's debate over which rules must be followed. Second, the Buddha left us because nobody asked him to stay. This second point makes me reflect on the importance of reminding people that they are valued.
I also read The Red Book, Reader's Edition, by Carl Jung. I'm still processing that one. The artwork in the book is breathtaking and I strongly suggest looking it up even if you only look at the art. Narratively, it feels a bit like rambling at times. I'd previously read Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, and Aion, and felt like those had a bit more intelligible substance. The first few chapters of Aion are excellent, but then Jung just goes on for like a dozen chapters about fish symbolism which completely lost me.
I also read a few other books on occult and esoteric topics, but my thoughts on those books are more complex than what I'm willing to type out on mobile. Key takeaway from a book on Wiccan Witchcraft was that they also believe in a system of reincarnation. I'm interested in reading through some of the core texts of Chinese Mythology at some point, but there aren't any good audiobook recordings for some of them.
I'm sad to say that I made very little progress in getting through proper college level textbooks, but I'm working through Molecular Biology of the Cell.
- Aion, by Carl Jung.
- Aion - Carl Jung
- "A promising counterbalance to these trends is to develop alternative ways of being that increase and diversify the “crowd within” - and drive an ongoing inner discourse .... It’s to look more often within, and behind, to develop depth and soul.... And we could do worse than to turn to Jung for a starting point in that journey."
There's so much to Jung's work that finding a way in to the core can be difficult. I once studied several of his collected works. To learn whether his ideas might have value for one's journey, his own journey and motivations are revealed in memoir Memories, Dreams, Reflections. His 'evidence' is the universality of human experiences ... his own and those of his patients.
To get to some of the core ideas (without dilution), try the two books of Vol 9. Archetypes... (which arrives at key idea 'Individuation') and Aion (gets into self, ego, shadow, anima/animus). These aren't easy reads, but many have found the effort rewarding.
Edit: Joseph Campbell's ideas (specially TV series The Power of Myth) might be a more widely accessible way to learn about this path.
- Aion by Carl Jung
- I am in love with books and the notion that you can talk with another person long dead without any distortion or distraction. Some rules I abide by:
1. Any book that you expect to read once and once only (popular science, pulp fiction, toilet-reading) rent from the library. Keep it by your bed at night and give-er by the lamplight.
2. Any book that you can read, word-over-word, end-on-end, without confusion or introspection can be consumed in condensed form. Condensed forms come in many guises:(audio-books, blog-feeds, wiki-pages etc.)
3. You are missing out on all the glories that are not defined by 1 and 2. A good book should be a conversation, held at length, over time.
You asked for philosphy in another comment:
Victor Frankyl: Man in search of meaning
Marcus Aurelius: Meditations
Jung: Development of Personality, Archetypes/Aion
Nietsche: all and any
For philosophical fiction:
Goethe: Faust
Hemingway: Death in the afternoon (this was my first glimpse into why books can provide lightness of body, displacement of time: wait for the 4th-wall-breaking-rapport with the old woman)
David Foster Wallace:Rise Simba, Infinite Jest, etc.
https://harpers.org/wp-content/uploads/HarpersMagazine-2001-...
There have been studies that your brain scans feeds and webpages differently than text on a page. You set yourself up to not pay attention / are just "scraping the good bits"
Someone mentioned a while back that Infinite Jest (1000 page tome + 300 pages endnotes!) had ~50 pages that made the whole thing worth it. The immediate following comment was "why not just read the 50 pages?". It is the context around which we find our content that gives it worth. The internet allows you to bypass the context.
