Since the late 19th century, when the new science of psychology and interest in esoteric and occult phenomena converged leading to the discovery of the unconscious the dual disciplines of depth psychology and mysticism have been wed in an often unholy union. Continuing in this tradition, and the challenges it carries, this volume includes a variety of inter-disciplinary approaches to the study of depth psychology, mysticism, and mystical experience, spanning the fields of theology, religious studies, and the psychology of religion. Chapters include inquiries into the nature of self and consciousness, questions regarding the status and limits of mysticism and mystical phenomenon, and approaches to these topics from multiple depth psychological traditions.

Explores the depth psychological significance of mystical experience from an interdisciplinary perspective. Brings together contributions of scholars and practitioners/analysts. Shows that depth psychological and traditional readings of mystical phenomena are not incompatible, but may be mutually enriching.

Autorentext

Thomas Cattoi *** is Associate Professor of Christology and Cultures, Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University and Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA. He co-edits the journal Buddhist-Christian Studies and is the author of Divine Contingency: Theologies of Divine Embodiment in Maximos the Confessor and Tsong kha pa (2009) and Theodore the Studite: Writings on Iconoclasm* (2014).

David M. Odorisio is Director of The Retreat at Pacifica Graduate Institute, Santa Barbara, CA, and teaches in Pacifica's Mythological Studies graduate degree program in the areas of methodology, psychology and religion, and comparative mysticism. He has published in numerous journals at the intersection of depth psychology and religious studies.

Inhalt
Introduction.- Depth Psychology and Mystical Phenomena: The Challenge of the Numinous.- Rescuing Alexandria: Depth Psychology and the Return of Tropological Exegesis.- Dionysus in Depth: Mystes, Madness, and Method in James Hillman's Re-visioning of Psychology.- The Royal Road Meets the Data Highway.- Spirituality and the Challenge of Clinical Pluralism: Participatory Thinking in Psychotherapeutic Context.- Descriptive Disenchantment and Prescriptive Disillusionment: Myths, Mysticism, and Psychotherapeutic Interpretation.- Embodying Nonduality: Depth Psychology in American Mysticism.- Mysticism in Translation: Psychological Advances, Cautionary Tales.- Sigmund Freud and Jewish Mysticism: An Exploration.- Jung and Mysticism.- Mystic Descent: James Hillman and the Religious Imagination.- Apophasis and Psychoanalysis.- Divine Darkness and Divine Light: Alchemical Illumination and the Mystical Play Between Knowing and Unknowing.- Nothing Almost Sees Miracles! Self and No-Self in Depth Psychology and Mystical Theology.- In Killing You Changed Death to Life: Transformation of the Self in St. John of the Cross and Carl Jung.- The Buddhist Unconscious (Alaya-vijnana) and Jung's Collective Unconscious: What Does It Mean to be Liberated from the Self?.