Stein claims that Dr. Jung's "relationship with [his wife] Emma [1882-1955; married 1903] was transformative" (page 100). But Stein politely sidesteps explicitly discussing Dr. Jung's relationship with Antonia (Toni) Wolff (1888-1953), a former analysand of his to whom he turned for help during his self-experiment with active imagination -- and with whom he subsequently openly maintained a close relationship until her death in 1953.
Stein says, "The mutual image of a particular couple -- in itself an impersonal archetypal image of the collective unconscious -- is uniquely expressive of the pair's specific relational alchemy" (page 101). Hey, other writers speak of the chemistry between two certain persons. So why can't a Jungian writer speak of relational alchemy?
In conclusion, the prospect of the prolonged agony of transformation will probably not sound appealing to many Americans. However, in effect, many Americans in the second half of their lives are already experiencing the prolonged agony of transformation, but without understanding what they are already undergoing. As Stein indicates, transformation usually involves participating in a transformative relationship.
For an accessible presentation of Jesuit spirituality, see James Martin's book THE JESUIT GUIDE TO (ALMOST) EVERYTHING: A SPIRITUALITY FOR REAL LIFE (2010). For an entirely materialistic (i.e., secular) approach to spirituality, see Troels Engberg-Pedersen's book COSMOLOGY AND SELF IN THE APOSTLE PAUL: THE MATERIAL SPIRIT (2010).
(Article changed on October 30, 2014 at 09:45)
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