“The body is merely the visibility of the soul, the psyche; and the soul is the psychological experience of the body” —C.G. Jung “Yoga is most often understood as the union of the individual with the transcendental self, with what Jung terms the Self.” —Judith Mills In recent years, the practice of yoga has made headlines in the mainstream media as parents in U.S. school districts challenged its inclusion in the curriculum at public schools, insisting it amounts to religious indoctrination and that it violates religious freedom.[1] In the U.S. today, while mainstream yoga is largely focused on physical poses and […]
Continue reading »Author: Bonnie Bright, Ph.D.
Bonnie Bright, Ph.D. holds M.A. degrees in Psychology from Sonoma State University and Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, where she also completed her doctorate. She is a certified Archetypal Pattern Analyst™ and Transpersonal Soul-Centered Coach, using Somatic, Symbolic, and Shamanic perspectives to guide clients through spiritual awakening, integrate mystical experiences, and overcome creative blockages. She founded the Institute for Soul-Centered Psychology and Coaching™ in 2020.
Bonnie is accredited through the International Association of Coaches, Therapists, & Mentors (IACTM) and has extensive training in dream work, Holotropic Breathwork, and the Enneagram. She also completed a 2-year training in Indigenous African Spiritual Technologies with elder Malidoma Somé, has lived with indigenous Shipibo people in Peru as part of a shamanic initiation to learn medicine and healing modalities , and has worked with shamans and healers in the Africa, and North and South America.
In 2010, she founded Depth Psychology Alliance™, an online organization with over 5,500 members, and served as Executive Editor of Depth Insights™ journal for six years. Bonnie is the editor of "Earth, Climate, Dreams: Dialogues with Depth Psychologists in the Age of the Anthropocene" (2019) and "Depth Psychology and the Digital Age" (2016). Her journey into soul-centered work began with a mystical experience in 2006, which continues to inform her daily quest for awakening and helping others find their own path to soul.
Ecopsychology: On Educating Ourselves as Ecopsychological Beings in a Psychological World—An Interview with Dr. Lori Pye
Ecopsychology: On Educating Ourselves as Ecopsychological Beings in a Psychological World—An Interview with Dr. Lori Pye As an activist working with NGOs to stop shark finning in Central America years ago, Dr. Lori Pye was once a target of a malicious act intended to intimidate her. The experience plunged her into a sort of psychological crisis. Finding herself face to face with a stark and undeniable image of ecological devastation, she had an epiphany: our own psychological destruction is being expressed in destruction of the ecological world. The experience profoundly renewed Dr. Pye’s focus on ecopsychology. At the same time, […]
Continue reading »The Genius Myth: An Interview with Storyteller and Author, Michael Meade
When Michael Meade was thirteen, his aunt, seemingly by accident, bought him a book of mythology for his birthday. Though he felt profoundly aligned with the book and stayed up all night reading it, it would take another 20 years before it became evident it was his path in life, guiding him to his current calling as a renowned storyteller, author, and scholar in mythology and depth psychology. “The soul’s way of being is unique to each person,” Meade wrote in his acclaimed book, Why The World Doesn’t End. “It was seeded and sown within each of us from the beginning […]
Continue reading »The Value of Multi-Cultural Perspectives in Depth Psychotherapy: Interview with Dr. Matthew Bennett
Counseling is an applied healing art that helps us address suffering, enrich personal lives, activate our potential, to live more fully, and to develop more adaptive capacities to life in the view of Dr. Matthew Bennett, a psychotherapist and lecturer who teaches Counseling program at Pacifica Graduate Institute. More, psychotherapists and counselors that have a depth psychological orientation are prepared for a “broad spectrum slice of the human experience,” which for Bennett, includes the ability to be emotionally present in difficult emotional circumstances or even to simply better hold and tolerate emotionally powerful situations. Depth psychology is grounded in the […]
Continue reading »The C.G. Jung—Erich Neumann Connection: An Interview with Dr. Lance Owens
Dr. Lance Owens has dedicated the past thirty or more years of his life to studying C.G. Jung, whose willingness to engage with and understand his visionary experiences has transformed so many lives. Owens has also recently become profoundly interested in the life and work of Erich Neumann, who was arguably one of Jung’s most gifted students, and who eventually became a close friend of Jung’s. Through the influence of Jung, Neumann made his own creative and compelling contributions to the field of depth psychology through works such as The Great Mother (1955), The Origins and History of Consciousness (1954), and Depth Psychology and a […]
Continue reading »Limitless Growth, the Destructive Myth of our Times: PART TWO of a Report on a Talk Given by Dr. Vandana Shiva
Read Part One of this Report here Dr. Vandana Shiva, author and activist, has courageously spent the last decade working on soil solutions to climate change, steadfast in her belief that if governments can’t make the shift, people can. In her recent talk at Pacifica’s “Climates of Change and a Therapy of Ideas” conference, she focused on the dangers of genetically modified crops and the big business that seeks to capitalize on it. Monopoly rights on seeds and plants are increasingly being imposed through global patents, she notes, by which certain corporations develop proprietary processes for breeding plants and animals, thereby allowing […]
Continue reading »Limitless Growth, the Destructive Myth of our Times: Part One of a Report on a Talk Given by Dr. Vandana Shiva
The idea of limitless growth is the most destructive myth of our times, began Dr. Vandana Shiva, in her inspiring plenary talk at “Climates of Change and a Therapy of Ideas,” Pacifica’s recent 40thanniversary conference held on the Ladera campus in Santa Barbara, CA. Vandana Shiva, who trained as a physicist at the University of Western Ontario, Canada, is Founder and Director of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and Ecology and for Navdanya, the movement for seed saving and ecological agriculture. She is also the author of numerous books including Staying Alive, Ecofeminism, Seed Sovereignty and Food Security: Women in the Vanguard (Ed.), Soil […]
Continue reading »Ecotherapy: Nature Reconnection as a Powerful, Transformational Healing Practice: A Short Interview with Linda Buzzell
If the name, Linda Buzzell, sounds familiar to you, it’s no surprise—particularly if you are moved as I am by the growing ecological crisis that is unfolding around us. Linda Buzzell, MA, LMFT, PDC (Permaculture Design Certificate) has been a psychotherapist for more than 30 years and has specialized in ecopsychology and ecotherapy since 2000. She co-edited the 2009 Sierra Club Books anthology, Ecotherapy: Healing with Nature in Mind. From my perspective, Linda is a true pioneer in the field, with a wonderful gift for sharing her passion for the planet in a multitude of ways that appeal to a broad audience. In […]
Continue reading »Ecotherapist Linda Buzzell, Panel Presentation for “Earth, Climate, Dreams”—A Summary
In a short presentation as a panelist for “Earth, Climate, Dreams,” an online event hosted by Depth Psychology Alliance™ that took place in April 2016, Linda Buzzell, MA, MFT, shared some insights into the power of “daytime dreams” and working to develop eco-resilience in the face of challenging times. I found Linda’s insights into eco-resilience quite powerful, prompting me to summarize them here in order to share them with you. Linda begins by mentioning the work of Dr. Steven Aizenstat and psychotherapist, Lauren Schneider, both active in the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD), and how they perceive […]
Continue reading »Dreaming the Earth: Earthing the Dream—Depth Psychology and Appreciative Nature Practices with Dr. Pat Katsky
Dr. Pat Katsky is a Jungian Analyst and core faculty at Pacifica Graduate Institute, and she has been a therapist for thirty years. When Pat sat down with me in a recent interview, our conversation focused on the idea that some of the most psychologically healing experiences come from the natural world, a theme derived from an upcoming certificate program, “Dreaming the Earth: Earthing the Dream” starting April 15, 2016. Pat mused on how in the last million or so years of history, humans have always needed nature and did not feel separate from it. But with the industrial revolution […]
Continue reading »Spirit, Soul, and the Secular: An Interview with Thomas Moore
Depth Psychology is often associated with “soul.” Many great thinkers in the field have shared some important thoughts on the topic, and perhaps none more so than psychologist and author, Thomas Moore, whose best-selling book, Care of the Soul, is one of the most recognized and appreciated works on the topic. When I sat down recently with Thomas to discuss the topic of soul and spirituality, my first request was that he elaborate on the difference between spirit and soul. Moore’s understanding of the topic is rooted firmly in the past, going back to some of the earliest teachers of soul. […]
Continue reading »Confronting Signs of a Society in Decline: An Interview with Journalist Chris Hedges
As a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Chris Hedges carries with him nearly two decades of experience reporting from war-torn countries like Yugoslavia, El Salvador, and also Gaza and South Sudan. In this capacity, he has witnessed the decline and disintegration of multiple societies, a perspective which has surely influenced his capacity regard the decline and potential destruction of our own modern culture that seems severely out of order. He has been described, more than once, as being “dark,” which, from a depth psychological perspective, I’m quick to assure him, is actually a compliment. Depth psychology insists we look under the […]
Continue reading »The Therapy Room and the Interactive Field: Dr. Joseph Cambray on Becoming a Supervisor in Depth
Psychotherapy is pervasive in contemporary culture. Even if you’re not a therapist yourself, if you’re taking the time to read this post, chances are good that either you or someone close to you has been involved in therapy at some point in their lives. And, while you may feel you have a good understanding of what happens in the therapy room, there may be more than meets the eye. Do you ever wonder, for example, what has to occur in the therapeutic process so that the basic experience is what it needs to be for both the client and the […]
Continue reading »Alchemical Active Imagination: Interview with Jungian Analyst Tom Elsner
Listen to the full interview with Tom here Watch the full interview here The brilliant use of alchemy as a symbolic language and process for psychological and spiritual development is arguably one of C. G. Jung’s greatest contributions to the field of depth psychology. While alchemy may appear to be a mystical—and mysterious—domain, Jung developed a powerful and inspired method for accessing it by entering into dialogue with the rich manifestations of the unconscious and applying it to our daily lives for transformation and growth. “True knowledge of oneself is the knowledge of the objective psyche as it manifests in […]
Continue reading »Jung, Individuation, and Film (includes Audio Interview)
Ever since I met Dr. Glen Slater in 2008, I have known him to be a particularly passionate and knowledgeable advocate of film. I often see his film reviews in Jungian and depth publications, and his background in clinical psychology and religious studies—along with his interest in technology and culture—make his commentary especially valuable. In a recent interview, Glen and I sat down together for an intriguing depth discussion on Jung, individuation, and film. To begin, Dr. Slater notes, while we can think of individuation as coming to one’s deep self or unique character, it’s also the place where one […]
Continue reading »Depth Psychological Approaches to Suffering—Audio Interview & Blog post with Dr. Lionel Corbett
Listen to the full audio interview with Dr. Lionel Corbett here (27:12 mins) “Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” ― Kahlil Gibran We are all intimately familiar with suffering. And, while we might wish it away when it is painfully present, it is a normal part of human life, Dr. Lionel Corbett, M.D., Jungian analyst and professor at Pacifica Graduate Institute reminded me when I recently sat down for a depth discussion with him on the topic. Etymologically, the word “suffering” comes from two Latin roots: sub—meaning “under”—and ferre, meaning “to carry or […]
Continue reading »When the Gods Come Calling: Dr. Jennifer Selig on Finding One’s Vocation
What happens when the gods come calling, from a depth psychological perspective, and how can one be ready when it happens? These are questions that arose when I recently sat down with Dr. Jennifer Selig to discuss her Salon on January 22, 2016: “The Right Address: How to Be Home When the Gods Come Calling.” The title of Selig’s presentation is based on the double meaning of the word “address.” Not only can the word mean a physical “address” where you live or work— where you can typically be found—it’s verb form, while pronounced differently, signifies when someone calls you. “Calling” […]
Continue reading »The Return of the Goddesses-in Mysteries!
Notes on a Depth Discussion between Susan Rowland and Bonnie Bright If you are an avid reader, the mystery genre is likely a familiar presence in the pleasures of your pastime. Those who love detective fiction really love it, as author and scholar Susan Rowland insists to me in a recent interview, and there is a strong ritual element in the reading and writing of mysteries. There are certain consistencies in every story that one may begin to expect; and yet they continue to enthrall us even as they unfold. Mystery novels hold a place for ritual in our culture, […]
Continue reading »“Taking Responsibility for One’s Creative Life”: Nina Ross Ph.D. in Conversation with Bonnie Bright for Depth Insights™
In this depth discussion, Nina Ross (at right) and Bonnie Bright, Ph.D, engage on what happens when one attempts to make art, and the dynamic relationship between art and psychology. Nina offers personal retreats on art and psychology in Santa Fe, NM. Depth Insights™ is a media affiliate of Depth Psychology Alliance. Originally aired September 20, 2015 (approx 35 mins) Nina Ross (PhD, LPAT, and ATR) has a PhD. in the Depth Psychology of Art from Union Institute. Nina is an artist, art therapist, and psychotherapist working from a Jungian perspective. Nina has led numerous workshops retreats, and classes at universities, retreat […]
Continue reading »Jung and Synchronicity: The Union of Nature and Psyche
C.G. Jung, one of the founding fathers of depth psychology, was a strong proponent of balancing rational thought with non-cerebral intelligence, insisting that consciousness inherently resides in the body and in the natural world around us. In fact, he was quite taken by Austrian Nobel prize-winning ethologist Karl von Frisch’s notion of how bees communicated navigational information to their sister bees so that they could forage the best pollen around the hive. Frisch’s research suggested the “waggle dance” performed by bees was both intelligent and purposeful, demonstrating an organizational impulse that stemmed from the “bottom up”—that is, situated on an […]
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