James Hollis – författare

Det engelska originalet är kontinuerligt en av världens mest sålda böcker i kategorin Jungiansk Psykologi. Detta är en uppdaterad nyutgåva av den svenska översättningen. Varför är mitten av livet en så besvärlig tid för många människor? Varför just då? Av vilken anledning talar man om en mittlivskris? Kan det finnas något meningsfullt i en sådan upplevelse? Många av oss förhåller oss till livet som om det vore en roman. Passivt bläddrar vi från sida till sida och hoppas att författaren så småningom ska tala om för oss vad boken handlar om. Hemingway lär en gång ha sagt att om hjälten inte dör, beror det på att författaren inte skrivit färdigt historien. På sista sidan av vårt livs roman dör vi, oavsett om vi kommit underfund med vad vårt liv handlar om eller ej. Mittlivspassagen ger oss en möjlighet att ompröva våra liv och fråga: ”Vem är jag bortsett från min historia och de roller jag har spelat?” Det är ett tillfälle att omdefiniera och omorientera personligheten, en nödvändig övergångsrit mellan den förlängda ungdomstiden i den första vuxenåldern och vårt oundvikliga möte med åldrande och dödlighet. Vid livets mitt får vi ett erbjudande inifrån att bli medvetna, att acceptera vårt ansvar för andra halvan av historien och att svara på den utmaning som kallar oss. Denna bok visar hur vi medvetet kan resa genom Mittlivspassagen och därmed göra våra liv mer meningsfulla och den andra halvan av livet oerhört mycket rikare. Nyutgåva till 30-årsjubileet av den första svenska utgåvan med nytt förord av författaren. James Hollis, PhD, är Jungiansk Psykoanalytiker, utbildad vid CG Junginstitutet i Zürich, numera verksam i Washington, D.C., USA.

Frågorna som människor alltid ställt sig, Vem är jag och varför finns jag?, har fortfarande kvar sin aktualitet för nutidens människor. Svaren låter sig inte fångas utom i mytens bildspråk och i denna bok försöker James Hollis förklara hur och varför myterna behövs för att skapa mening i tillvaron. Och utan mening är människan förlorad.

Life can often feel like a distraction, dividing us not only from others but also from ourselves. Yet even within the cacophony of life, deep down you can intuit your own soul, that part of you that knows you better than you know yourself, and that offers moments of solace.Our disconnect from this inner source of guidance leads to self-doubt, but bestselling author and Jungian analyst James Hollis provides a reminder that we carry within what we’re so anxiously looking for from a crazed world. “Behind the noise and beneath the surface, something in the soul of each of us cries out,” says Hollis. “While we may be distracted from this summons, the soul keeps asking that we pay attention.” These summons come to us through symptoms, dreams, and restless nights. Here, Hollis reveals tools we can utilise to engage in a conversation with the soul.In this collection of essays, Hollis helps us to reflect deeply on questions that explore and celebrate life's challenges in our evolving world, including how happiness is attained, how to approach our dreams, the divided soul of America, our fear and fascination with death, and the conflict between good and evil. Using analytic psychology as a vehicle for the recovery of a spiritual life in a secular age, you’ll find inspiration for reconnecting with deep wisdom, bringing renewed purpose and dignity to this mysterious journey called life.

What does it really mean to be a grown up in today’s world? We assume that once we “get it together” with the right job, marry the right person, have children, and buy a home, all is settled and well. But adulthood presents varying levels of growth, and is rarely the respite of stability we expected. Turbulent emotional shifts can take place anywhere between the age of thirty-five and seventy when we question the choices we’ve made, realize our limitations, and feel stuck— commonly known as the “midlife crisis.” Jungian psycho-analyst James Hollis believes it is only in the second half of life that we can truly come to know who we are and thus create a life that has meaning. In Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life, Hollis explores the ways we can grow and evolve to fully become ourselves when the traditional roles of adulthood aren’t quite working for us, revealing a new way of uncovering and embracing our authentic selves. Offering wisdom to anyone facing a career that no longer seems fulfilling, a long-term relationship that has shifted, or family transitions that raise issues of aging and mortality, Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life provides a reassuring message and a crucial bridge across this critical passage of adult development.

Working with the Shadow is not working with evil, per se. It is working toward the possibility of greater wholeness. We will never experience healing until we can come to love our unlovable places, for they, too, ask love of us. How is it that good people do bad things? Why is our personal story and our societal history so bloody, so repetitive, so injurious to self and others? How do we make sense of the discrepancies between who we think we are—or who we show to the outside world—versus our everyday behaviors? Why are otherwise ordinary people driven to addictions and compulsions, whether alcohol, drugs, food, shopping, infidelity, or the Internet? Why are interpersonal relationships so often filled with strife?

Exploring Jung’s concept of the Shadow—the unconscious parts of our self that contradict the image of the self we hope to project--Why Good People Do Bad Things guides you through all the ways in which many of our seemingly unexplainable behaviors are manifestations of the Shadow. In addition to its presence in our personal lives, Hollis looks at the larger picture of the Shadow at work in our culture—from organized religion to the suffering and injustice that abounds in our modern world. Accepting and examining the Shadow as part of one’s self, Hollis suggests, is the first step toward wholeness. Revealing a new way of understanding our darker selves, Hollis offers wisdom to help you to acquire a more conscious conduct of your life and bring a new level of awareness to your daily actions and choices.

The celebrated author of Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life delivers a unique look at happiness, sharing a Jungian approach to finding a fearless, authentic path.Why are we here? What is the meaning of existence? What truly matters the most in life? To even begin to answer these questions, we must start by exploring our own internal ideals, values, and beliefs. Presenting the unique perspective of respected analyst and author James Hollis, Ph.D., What Matters Most helps readers learn to appreciate (even be amazed by) events unfolding within, even as the external world creates constant struggles.Taking a fresh look at the concept of happiness, Hollis uses a warm, accessible tone to encourage readers to learn to tolerate ambiguity, embrace growth rather than security, respect the power of Eros, engage spiritual crises, and acknowledge the shadow of mortality. Providing inspiring wisdom and personal reflections to address our deepest worries, What Matters Most yields far more than mere self-help clichés. Instead, Hollis guides readers in uncovering the heart of the matter, discovering what it means to truly live life to its fullest, most meaningful state—as fully engaged citizens of the world.

What we wish to know, and most desire, remains unknowable and lies beyond our grasp. With these words, James Hollis leads readers to consider the nature of our human need for meaning in life and for connection to a world less limiting than our own. In The Archetypal Imagination, Hollis offers a lyrical Jungian appreciation of the archetypal imagination. He argues that without the human mind's ability to form energy-filled images that link us to worlds beyond our rational and emotional capacities, we would have neither culture nor spirituality. Drawing upon the work of poets and philosophers. Hollis shows the importance of depth experience, meaning, and connection to an ""other"" world. The author draws upon the work of the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, particularly his Duino Elegies, to elucidate the archetypal imagination in literary forms. To underscore the importance of incarnating depth experience, he also examines a series of paintings by Nancy Witt. With the power of the archetypal imagination available to all of us, we are invited to summon courage to take on the world anew and to risk a radical re-imagining of the larger possibilities of the world and of the self.

Living Between Worlds speaks to the deeply unsettled feeling many of us have in the face of the chaos of our modern age, to the sense that something has died and its replacement has yet to be reborn. With relevant examples from his personal life, his practice, classical literature, and fairy tales, Dr. James Hollis makes a compelling case for depth psychology as the weatherproofing we need for the winds of change. He defines depth psychology as a dialogue with the mystery that is our very Self, an effort to address the whole person. Through this dialogue, we develop a personal authority and resilience that serves us through any kinds of change.Dr. Hollis's mastery of Jungian psychology informs each chapter of this book. He brings his ample knowledge, experience, and wry humor to areas where we see tremendous change today: gender equity, the status of religious institutions, isolation and divisiveness, and the problems of addiction and escapism, all with compassion and refreshing directness. He places our current collective distress in the context of the scope of Western Civilisation, and calls on us to find within ourselves, both collectively and individually, the resources to navigate our discomfort with change and uncertainty. In the end, he comes to the conclusion that humanity has always survived times of upheaval, and offers hope that we will make it through these times to a new world, just as our ancestors did before us.

An Invitation to Listen to Your Soul’s CallingHow do you define "growing up"? Does it mean you achieve certain cultural benchmarks—a steady income, paying taxes, marriage, and children? Or does it mean leaving behind the expectations of others and growing into the person you were meant to be? If you find yourself in a career, place, relationship, or crisis you never foresaw or that seems at odds with your beliefs about who you are, it means your soul is calling on you to reexamine your path.With Living an Examined Life, James Hollis offers an essential guidebook for anyone at a crossroads in life. Here this acclaimed author guides you through 21 areas for self-inquiry and growth, challenging you to:• Recover Personal Authority—how to stop living in response to the expectations placed on you• Choose Meaning Over Happiness—why seeking truth instead of entertaining distractions ultimately leads to greater fulfillment• Exorcise the Ghosts of the Past That Bind You—how the voices that haunt you can lead you to grow• Bestow Love on the Unlovable Parts of You—recovering the guiding force concealed in your Shadow• Construct a Mature Spirituality—the five essential elements of integrating meaning and mystery into your life• Seize Permission to Be Who You Really Are—the challenge of fully showing up for your lifeWith his trademark eloquence and insight, Dr. Hollis offers Living an Examined Life to inspire you toward a life of personal authority, integrity, and fulfillment. "It is my hope that this book will be a tool to recover your respect for that which abides deeply within," writes Dr. Hollis. "You will not be spared disappointment or suffering. But you can know the depth and dignity of an authentic journey, of being a real player in your time on this turning planet, and your life will become more interesting, taking you deeper than ever before."