Edward F Edinger – författare

"Edinger has greatly enriched my understanding of psychology through the avenue of alchemy. No other contribution has been as helpful as this for revealing, in a word, the anatomy of the psyche and how it applies to where one is in his or her process. This is a significant amplification and extension of Jung's work. Two hundred years from now, it will still be a useful handbook and an inspiring aid to those who care about individuation". -- Psychological Perspectives

The collective belief in the End of the World, as described in the Biblical Book of Revelation, can be seen in public reaction to terrorist outrages such as those of Sept. 11, in the preoccupation with disasters, in the obsession with UFO's and the possibility of encountering extra-terrestrial life, and in the breakdown of social structures. Edinger argues that this very real psychological force is vitally important for our times, and he offers an alternative to catastrophe through understanding the meaning of these radiant scriptures.

Zeus, Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, Athena—do the gods and goddesses of Greece have anything to say to us that we haven''t already heard? In this book, based on a series of his lectures, the eminent Jungian analyst and writer Edward F. Edinger revisits all the major figures, myths, oracles, and legends of the ancient Greek religion to discover what they can still reveal—representing, as they do, one of the religious and mythic foundations of Western culture. Building on C. G. Jung''s assertion that mythology is an expression of the deepest layers of mind and soul, Dr. Edinger follows the mythic images into their persistent manifestations in literature and on into our modern lives. He finds that the gods indeed continue to speak as we grow in our capacity to listen and that the myths express the inner energies within all of us as much as ever. Heracles is eternally performing his labors, Perseus is still confronting Medusa, Theseus is forever stalking the Minotaur, and Persephone is still being carried off to life in a new realm.

I denna spännande och viktiga bok diskuterar författaren konsekvenserna av C.G. Jungs analytiska psykologi när det gäller människans ansvar för tillvarons mening och det mänskliga medvetandets betydelse som spegel för det gudomliga. Psykologiskt sett behöver gudomen människan för att kunna bli medveten om sina mörka sidor, vilket i sin tur förutsätter att människan blir medveten om såväl sin destruktiva som sin kreativa potential.

Meningsfrågan som sysselsätter många, vare sig vi räknar oss som kristna eller ej, är relaterad till frågan om vår identitet och dess beståndsdelar av gott och ont. I Kristus har vi, menar Edinger, den första för oss begripliga gestalt, den första symbolformation, ur vilken en kristen arketyp kan härledas. Att gå i Kristi fotspår och bära sitt kors också i inre mening ger möjlighet att bli människa fullt ut, att bli hel - men inte fullkomlig. Att få kontakt med Kristus-arketypen är inte att imitera eller identifiera sig med Kristus, utan att leva sitt eget liv med allvar och hängivenhet.