NYC Depth Psychology

This #newbook by Jacqueline Rose is the most important book I’ve read in years. If you’ve talked with me in the past two weeks you likely know I’m obsessed with her writing. Whoever you are - mother, woman, human - do yourself a favor and read it! She sheds light on the myth that women, mothers, and functioning societies must make everything good. In this myth, social problems and the reality of all suffering are metabolized inwardly as private madness. But, Rose argues,... by opening up to the fullness of the Mother archetype we don’t just get more suffering. Far from it. We gain the opportunity for real dialogue with others. We gain the potential for all new birth. #newbooks #litcrit #literarycriticism #culturalcriticism #feminism #mother #motherhood #womenempowerment #womeninspiringwomen #womenartists #womenwhowrite #archetypes #whatislove #love #hate #loveandhate #loveandcruelty #transgender #sexualethics #differentperspective #bordercrossing #psychotherapy #psychology #newyork See more

Politically left, right, independent, or otherwise, we can have dialogue and treat each other with openness. My friend @strickandwilliams started this campaign to remind us that we are always surrounded by people different from us, and we don’t have to buy into rhetoric that turns difference into division. At bottom, we are all trying to navigate the world as best we can. I’m anonymously tagging my patients who have carried political orientations, and sometimes feel lik...e the polar opposite of mine. I’m lucky that my job requires so much listening to other people that I have a little more understanding why, for example, Trump’s authoritarianism feels safe to some people, and threatening to others. Each person’s journey has its own integrity and piece of the truth. Discernment notwithstanding, let’s offer more hugs. #hugs #huglefthugright #politicalmemes #bethechange #bethechangeyouwanttosee #togetherness #psychotherapy #psychology #listen #listening #listeningisunderstanding #dissent #unity #unityindiversity #feminism #feminisminaction #newyork #nyc See more

NAVARATRI This Hindu celebration is religious and symbolic in nature. Whether or not you are spiritual, you can allow this time to be one of alignment with sacred feminine energies. Over nine nights, three goddesses are honored, and together these encompass the entire process of change. ... Destruction (Durga) Purification (Lakshmi)... Knowledge (Saraswati) ... Durga symbolizes destruction and death. Everything must die in its time. Let go of what is false and harmful, both from others, and in your own self. Durga is the boat that carries across the ocean of troubles, and the feminine power she represents gives strength to fight through difficulties. Lakshmi symbolizes the purification that comes after what is false has been destroyed. She is the harbinger of all that is auspicious, new, and promising. Depicted atop a lotus flower, her roots - her past - are in murky waters, but her bloom is brilliant and manifold. The space to be free, adventurous, and open is inside of you. Saraswati represents the knowledge that comes after all of this. Pure hunger and thirst are satisfied in knowledge of the true self. This knowledge includes the intellect, but is not limited to intellectual knowledge. This is the energy of creativity in art, music, and all learning, and brings with it the ability to speak what is true. ... It is ok to go through difficulties as they are real, and bring growth, especially when you can be supported by discerning guides. May the energies of renewal and creativity be with you. ... #Navaratri #Durga #Lakshmi #Saraswati #cleansing #renewal #change #insight #creativity #knowledge #knowledgeispower #worldreligions #psychotherapy #spirituality #wholeness #transformation #divinefeminine #goddesspower #nyc @ Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center New York

Even though we participate in it, and reify it, there is a reality greater than we can ever know.

"Do I contradict myself? Very well, then, I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multiitudes." -- Walt Whitman

We All Need to Listen More #MeToo After listening to several varied reactions to the Aziz Ansari story in my psychotherapy practice this week, I came home to hear my 3rd-grade daughter reluctantly express her concerns about a boy. This boy is a friend of hers, calls himself a feminist, and, she says, is usually understanding about women in history. But today he yelled girls suck! and was really mean. Careful readers will note ironic similarity to Grace’s experience of Azi...Continue reading

Suffering... is a verb. Often, we think of suffering as something we go through passively, something that is inflicted upon us, and thus it is something we try to avoid or get out of. But suffering is also something we do actively as we work our way through this life in all its real emotion, grit, and difficulty. It cannot be avoided if we want to truly be in our lives, and it, too, is a gift. Suffering is being in whatever is real for as long as it takes, knowing that there are ever more experiences like bliss and strength, but we must go through the suffering to get there. Suffering takes the "can't" out of "I can't," leaving us with the simple but profound "I."

Love is being met at the point of one's hunger for life with both the provisions and hunger of another.

"Matter is Spirit moving slowly enough to be seen." -- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin