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Figure . Edinger's association network. Reprinted by permission of Open Court Publishing Company, a division of Carus Publishing Company, Peru, Ill., from Anatomy of the Psyche by Edward Edinger, copyright © 1 by Open Court Publishing Company.
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In 1952 C. G. Jung published a paradoxical hypothesis on synchronicity that marked an attempt to expand the western world's conception of the relationship between nature and the psyche. Jung's hypothesis sought to break down the polarizing cause-effect assessment of the world and psyche, suggesting that everything is interconnected. Thus, synchroni...
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... Synchronicities occur at the seams of reality, at the boundaries between self and other, between man and nature, between life and death. It also occurred to me that "synchronicity" is another word for a "fractal" (Cambray, 2002(Cambray, , 2009Marks-Tarlow, 2008Marshall, 2011Marshall, , 2016. Fractals are repeating nearly identical patterns emerging in nonlinear dynamic systems theory, a mathematical model which psychoanalysts are currently applying to their clinical process (Galatzer-Levy, 2009). ...
Errors are a part of life and clinical mistakes are frequent. The author examines some of the ways that errors or mistakes permeate all areas of life, pointing out their frequency in human interaction, in research, in ordinary judgment, whether in daily largely trivial matters, or in significant matters of life and death. In some instances, a psychoanalyst might point out an unconscious motive for the errors, but in the history of psychoanalysis, clinical errors have often been shown to be beneficial to the treatment, to the extent that they enter into the psychoanalytic discourse. The author presents some clinical material drawn from his work with two supervisees.
... 760). The understanding of a unitary foundation, prior to the mind-body Cartesian separation (Cambray, 2009) provides a framework that helps us to think about the unconscious communication between patient and analyst through somatic experiences. The Jungian analyst Lara Lagutina (2021) argues that "engagement at the level of the psychoid unconscious is essential for processing unsymbolized experiences" (p. ...
This presentation attempts to show the healing potential underlying the inclusion of the patient's body in the analytic process, while honouring and revisiting the understanding of the psyche-body connection described by Jung in his early work. In addition, the author offers reflections on the impact of collective trauma whose aftermath, among others, has been the disappearance of thousands of people, consequently breaking the family genealogy, leaving hundreds of children stripped of their roots and true identity. Referencing clinical material, the author describes how the process of translation and integration-from the sensory-perceptual to the conceptual-symbolic-can be halted on account of collective trauma occurring at an early stage in development. Moreover, it is shown how the potential of the archetype or image schema, linked to the somatic-affective early experiences encoded as implicit memories, can be recovered, when Embodied Active Imagination is included in the analytic work. The patient's bodily gestures and somatic experience may bridge the gap between the preverbal-implicit knowledge and the emergence of emotions and images that allow for the creation of a new symbolic narrative.
... Several contemporary theorists (Cambray, 2009;Combs & Holland, 1990;Hocoy, 2012) expand upon Jung's ideas about an extended psychophysical reality, where mind and matter are a-causally related through meaning. They examine synchronicity through the lens of contemporary nonlinear science and complexity theory, conceptualizing it as self-organizing, emergent order near the edges of chaos. ...
Psychoanalysts have written about synchronicity, or meaningful coincidence, from the beginning of the field, yet the topic remains controversial and relegated to the edges of clinical work and research due to lack of a scientific framework. This paper presents a way to conceptualize resonant patterning between inner and outer processes derived from the mathematics of fractal geometry. Considered the “geometry of nature” since its inception, nonlinear fractal models, methods, and metaphors reach beyond reductionism, Cartesian dualism, and traditional linear notions of causality to accommodate porous, interpenetrating boundaries between inner and outer domains as well as self-similar relational patterns. A fractal epistemology is sturdy yet flexible enough to accommodate paradox, ambiguity, uncertainty plus other complex, fuzzy processes of the ordinary analytic experience. Clinical examples also illustrate that fractal framework applies more broadly to the occasional extra-ordinary experience of synchronicity and other “uncanny” nonlocal phenomena in clinical work.
... In recent years we have seen a large body of elegant investigation into the physical science of synchronicity, the relativity of time and the relationship between matter and psychein some respects continuing the explorations of Jung, von Franz and the physicist Wolfgang Pauli. Investigating synchronicity and the physical properties of complex systems in nature, Joseph Cambray (2009), Roderick Main (2004, Harald Atmanspacher (Atmanspacher & Fach 2013) and others have provided convincing evidence that psyche and matter are indeed interconnected and mutually influence each other. The point of mutual influence can be envisioned as Jung's concept of the psychoid. ...
Fear and grief caused by the pandemic have produced a powerful unconscious narrative in the collective psyche that the coronavirus is driven by an innately evil, and possibly divine, force. The resulting archetypal dimension of fear causes an extra layer of psychological suffering in individuals. This paper discusses how and why this narrative was created and why it is so compelling by looking at 1) the myth-making nature of the human psyche, 2) the psychodynamics of fear that drive the narrative, 3) the properties of the coronavirus and the pandemic that activate negative poles of some archetypes, in particular, archetypes of evil, and 4) asking how analytical psychology can help ease psychological suffering caused by these negative narratives, where one possibility is to invoke the transcendent function. The author's personal experiences as both biochemist and analytical psychologist elucidate how the transcendent function can promote healing.
... Associated with a growing body of research, the concept has been complimented by our sociocultural environment of the new age movement, which continues to impact our western intellectual culture (Hocoy, 2012). To better understand the phenomena, theories and technologies have been applied with insights from physics, biology, mathematics and psychology (Atmanspacher, 2012;Cambray, 2009;Peat, 1989;Sacco, 2016) forming an intrinsically, interdisciplinary field of synchronicity. Contributing to this body of research using an analytical and scientific approach are publications by Mansfield (1995Mansfield ( , 2002, Storm (2008), and Haule (2011). ...
... Patterned organisation of nature takes place on every level of our universe. Macroscopic stars, solar systems and galaxies, microscopic atoms and molecules and on a psychological level, consciousness seems to organise itself into being through the brain (Cambray, 2009). Pauli had collaborated with Jung in formulating the 'psychoid archetype', grounding the psyche in biology and nature allowing for an interconnectivity to exist with other parts of the universe (Donati, 2004). ...
When concepts are too complex to grasp using a reductionist approach, they can be labelled as superstitious ideas or not worthy of scientific consideration. This article is an exploration of the transformative implications of noticing and deriving meaning from these so called ‘superstitious’ experiences that often test our notion of common sense. Aiming to address some of the difficulties around the perceived mystical nature of synchronicity, it is hoped that this paper may contribute to a more objective and scientific grounding on the subject. It is asserted that the experience of synchronicity can transform our accepted and limiting boundaries between what is and what can be, guiding us towards a more meaningful lived experience, that lays the foundation for the emergence of the Self.
The theory of Meaningful Mutations of the Psyche is a theoretical framework that describes a five-stage process initiating from the inexplicable experience of our inner and outer worlds merging together in a meaningful way, and the linear trajectory towards psychological evolution and objective, positive outcomes. Just as conversations on the matter of synchronicity were brought to life through a syncretic approach, this paper aims to draw upon a synthesis of perspectives to make the argument for why the phenomenology of meaningful coincidences should be accepted as a relevant and significant component of positive psychology, especially within what could be an emerging third wave.
Key words: Synchronicity; Meaningful Coincidence; Carl Jung; Acausal; Emergence of the Self; Peak Experience; Numinous Experience; Awe; Serendipity; Positive Emotions; Non Locality; Patterns; Circles; Destiny
... Interconnectedness has re-emerged in contemporary Jungian thought in multiple avenues: through synchronicity (Cambray and Rosen 2012), Jungian ecopsychology (Kahn and Hasbach 2012;Holifield 2015;Chalquist 2007), through the intuitions of borderland personalities (Bernstein 2005), or through the concept of "anima mundi" or soul of the world (Hillman 1998). Indeed, Bernstein's work (2005) with indigenous knowledge and "borderland" personalities who intuit interconnectedness and feel nature's pain affirms the holistic worldview of cultures with different relationships to writing than Western cultures. ...
The shadow of technological development has received significant attention. User tracking, emotional manipulation, disinformation, online radicalization, and restrictions on free speech have shattered the cyber-utopianism of the 1990s and early 2000s. Yet the solutions to address technology's problems are framed as requiring more technology. This technological solutionism and its subsequent choices mask unconscious processes which give rise to new technologies. This essay is an attempt to interrogate the history of these choices by taking a depth psychological approach to the technological unconscious, beginning with the impact of writing on the psyche to the advent of computer screens. With technologies becoming more sophisticated and a primary way we interact with reality, it is vital to create a body of depth psychology literature on technology's history and impacts.
... У свою чергу, американський психолог Джеффрі Міллер (Міллер, 2014) розглядав трансцендентну функцію як своєрідний місток між індивідуальною свідомістю і колективним безсвідомим, який підтримує цілісність архетипу Самості (нім. Selbst) особистості, а американський вчений Джозеф Камбре (Cambray, 2009) досліджує запропонований швейцарськими науковцями: психоаналітиком Карлом Ґуставом Юнґом і фізиком-теоретиком Вольфгангом Паулі принцип синхронічності, що поєднує між собою події, між якими не існує причинно-наслідкового зв'язку. ...
The purpose of the study is a historicо-philosophical interpretation of the archetypes of personality as symbolic images of the collective unconscious in the receptive field of psychoanalytic views of Carl Gustav Jung. The methodological basis of the study is the such general scientific principles: interdisciplinary approach, the principle of objectivity, the principle of integrity and general philosophical methods: psychoanalytic method; phenomenological method; hermeneutic method. Scientific novelty of the study consists in the fact that within the Jungian analytical psychology to the author managed to carry out historico-philosophical reconstruction of ideas about the archetypes of personality, as myth-making constructs that fill the gaps between conscious and unconscious instance and reveal the symbolic meaning of archetypal figures, which are translators of generic information. In the course of the study were obtained the following conclusions: (1) determined that the collective unconscious is a fraction that consists of structural components-archetypes, which are able to establish the internal relationship between the individual and the world around him and directly influence his worldview and behavior, which is accompanied by radical mood swings (emotional lability); (2) emphasized that the individual, as a conscious subject in order to reach maturity on a psychological level must go beyond «comfort zone», that is go through the «path of the hero» and to win their inner demons, overcoming their own fears, phobias and complexes; (3) substantiated that the archetypes are archaic images, which breaks through the «defense» of consciousness and affects the fate and life activities of human; (4) emphasized that the predominance in the collective unconscious of animal archetypes and instincts can negatively affect the human psyche and lead to the decentration of the subject (according to P.–M. Foucault), that is to the splitting of the personality; (5) analyzed the specificity of archetypes аs integrated images of own «Ego», which are reduced to universal mythologies (lat. summa summarum) and are common to the cultures of different peoples of the world; (6) found that the transcendental function is a link between conscious and unconscious structure, which in their collide is able to «painlessly» neutralize the effects of internal conflict.
... The notion that Fibonacci numbers are involved in synchronistic events invokes insights based on modern dynamical systems theory (Cambray, 2009;Hogenson, 2005;Sacco, 2020). Dynamical systems theory has provided a solid background from which to speculate about synchronicity because it gives predictions about the evolution of systems (Nowak, Vallacher, Praszkier, Rychwalska, & Zochowski, 2020;Pikovsky, Rosenblum, & Kurths, 2001;Strogatz, 2004). ...
Recent years have seen an increased interest in journal articles and books on the topic of synchronicity. Such scholarly interest is consistent with increased cultural attention given to synchronicity and changes to the social context in which spirituality thrives as a personal search for meaning, which may or may not relate to religion. Based on a review of the extant literature on synchronicity, this paper proposes a new taxonomy for better understanding and analyzing the growing phenomenon of individual and cultural interest in synchronicity. The taxonomy consists of four dimensions of synchronicity: Context, Process, Content, and Explanation. The primary contributions of this paper are (a) description and definition of the concept of synchronicity, (b) preliminary proposal of a taxonomy of synchronicity, and (c) outline of a research agenda to conduct theory-based studies of synchronicity phenomena.
... Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events that are seemingly causally unrelated, and unlikely to occur together by chance, but that are observed to occur together in a meaningful manner (Jung, 1952). In order to understand synchronicity, theories and technologies have been proposed with insights from sciences, such as biology, physics, psychology, and mathematics (Atmanspacher, 2012;Cambray, 2009;Hogenson, 2014;Peat, 1987;Mansfield, 1995;Sacco, 2018;Sheldrake, 1987). Synchronicity is, therefore, an intrinsically interdisciplinary field. ...
In recent work in cognitive science, it has been proposed that synchronicity is a self-organizing dynamic in the evolution of nonlinear neural systems. However, capturing the real-time dynamics of synchronicity has been a formidable challenge. This paper provides an overview of a recent model that applies a joint dynamical-statistical approach to predict synchronicity. This model, termed the Harmonic Model, uses time-series data based on the Fibonacci sequence to forecast phase-space trajectories over the lifespan. The multiscale features limit the predictability of synchronicity and can be quantified in terms of conditional probabilities. Fitting model predictions to experimental data enables underlying synchronicity dynamics to be inferred, giving a new quantitative approach to the study of synchronicity. The model will be useful for empirical assessment of synchronicity, and for new therapeutic strategies to be developed on it.
... By demonstrating a link between Fibonacci harmonics and SEs, the present approach builds on Jung's original description of the Fibonacci sequence as a bridge between mind-matter correspondences within a common framework based on modern nonlinear dynamics. Indeed, this research contributes to the major paradigm shift in contemporary Jungian psychology by evaluating key concepts from the vantage point of complexity science (Atmanspacher & Fach, 2019;Cambray, 2009;Hogenson, 2014;Sacco, 2016;Saunders & Skar, 2001;Tresan, 1996;Van Eenwyk, 1991). ...
Fibonacci time patterns may predict future synchronicity experiences (SEs) by forecasting nonlinear dynamical interactions. This study examined if there were differences between observed distributions of SEs matching Fibonacci time patterns compared to expected distributions based on chance. An online survey link was e-mailed to a random sample of Jungian analysts drawn from membership lists of the International Association for Analytical Psychology (IAAP). Two experiments tested the hypothesis that Fibonacci algorithms would predict increased SEs compared to chance. The two Fibonacci algorithms studied were a golden section model (GSM) and harmonic model (HM). Participants reported a total of 41 synchronicities. Statistical analysis showed a significant difference (p < .10) between observed synchronicity matches and expected frequencies based on chance for the HM algorithm, and no significant difference in matches predicted by the GSM algorithm. Synchronicity dynamics showed a predictability range between ±34 days. The article discusses, among other issues, what these findings might mean for theoretical explanations of synchronicity and clinical practice.
