Apr 21 2019 46 mins 18
The Midlife Crisis, or as James Hollis calls it, "The Middle Passage," can occur anywhere from around age 30 up to age 65 or more. The classic movie style crisis usually involved affairs, tropical travel, abrupt job changes, dropping responsibilities, divorces, and maybe the purchase of a convertible sports car. Today, however, the typical Midlife experience may include all that, but is also much more complicated. In this episode we examine how to survive and even thrive, to find meaning and energy as we work through our Midlife experiences. Exploring Jungian Psychology and the ideas of the Ego, Persona, Unconscious, The Shadow, Projections, and so on, we learn the secrets to aging and growing up, and even finding new meaning in our lives as we transition from the First to the Second Adulthood, In addition, we will see how we may make this journey more consciously and create joy, success and meaning in our lives as we truly grow up. Hollis writes: "An insufficiently attained ego identity haunts and hinders a person's development in the second half of life." (p.40) The shift from ego state to the middle passage causes confusion, frustration and loss of identity; if this task remains incomplete, it can result in significant distress and disillusionment. The natural response of the ego is to blame the outer world, the same way the child held the parent responsible for meeting his needs. The turning towards one's inner Self, signals the true beginning of maturity; taking full responsibility means we cannot hold god or parents or society responsible. With the breaking down of the ego, it is no longer the prime ruler. This humbling experience although painful, as the story of Job symbolizes, is what is needed for the ego to shift from an ego-world perspective to the ego-self which the second adulthood necessitates. Growing up means finally confronting one's dependencies, complexes and fears without the help of others. Hosted by Jason Napolitano, author of If You Can Worry, You Can Meditate (available on Amazon and at CosmicEye.org) and Co-Hosted by Chris Sheridan author of Spirit in the Sky (available now on ChrisSheridan.com.) The Cosmic Eye show is a weekly metaphysical podcast where each week we talk about important spiritual books and ideas to help listeners positively transform their lives. We investigate spiritual, esoteric, and occult wisdom on a wide variety of figures such as Manly Hall, C.G. Jung, Israel Regardie, Crowley, Jordan Peterson, Alan Watts, Marie Louise Von Franz, Pythagoras, Paul Foster Case, Vivekananda, Yogananda, and others. As well as subjects such as Meditation, Yoga, Psychology, Mythology, Magick, New Thought, Men's Studies, Poetry, Art, Initiation, Ritual, Shamanism, and Folk traditions. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cosmiceye/support
