Jung to Live by

by Eugene Pascal

Far from mystical, Jung's theories can be easily applied to everyday life, and this book shows readers how. It includes important issues such as how to determine personality style, what inner forces influence likes and dislikes, spotting different complexes, how to transform one's world, and more.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Philosophy

292 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 1992

Reviews

[Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I was dubious of any book with the words "To Live By" in the title, I have found this to be an outstanding introduction for the layman to depth psychology.

Having read a fair number of books on Jungian psychology, such as "Man and his Symbols" and "Modern Man in Search of a Soul," I was also skeptical of the concept of a layman's approach, fearing it would dumb down the whole thing a bit too much.

But no such problems, in fact, this book made me think... Many times at Starbucks in the early morning over an espresso, I would come across a paragraph that would cause me to stop and contemplate for several minutes.

Topics covered include the theory of the archetypes, anima/animus, mythological aspects of the collective unconscious, and the application of Jungian concepts to the therapeutic approach to unconscious complexes as well as various aspects of pychological development in the process of daily living.

If you have an interest in Jungian thought or the process of analysis, I highly recommend this work.

[Aria · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf p. 127. The idea of a book about Jung written in an accessible way for the lay public is a good one. This guy's writing style is easily readable, & is not a problem. The actual problem is the author. He is the wrong person to do this work, as he can not stop making wrong & inappropriate assertions. It'd be laughable if it weren't so problematic. He's a jerk about it too, b/c he's so utterly convinced he's right. The thing is though, right or wrong (although he is often wrong), none of that should be in here, b/c the book is supposed to be about Jung, not this guy's opinions or interpretations of Jung & his work. It's not supposed to be about this guy at all. There he is, though.

I can't recommend this, obviously. Lots of good work re: Jung & his ideas are available. This book isn't one of them.

[Robert]

This was my introduction to Carl Jung and led to several futile attempts to actually read Jung. I have yet to finish anything that Carl Jung himself has written; reading his books make my eyes glaze over and my mouth hang open so that I drool all over myself. Reading other Jungians has a similar effect to a greater or lesser degree. Partly it’s because of the dense prose and partly it’s because I’m resistant to the archetype theory of the psyche.

This book was really fun to read and made me really appreciate Jung’s ideas more than anything else I’ve seen before or since. It feels a bit like a self help book but not to the point where it’s painful. It can get technical but again not too painful. Everything just seems to strike a nice balance.

[Anya Weber · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only made it through about half of this book before I started skimming. Jungian theory and depth psychology are both fascinating; unfortunately, Eugene Pascal takes a lightweight tone that makes this more of a self-help book than an actual exploration of Jungian concepts.

Some of Pascal's insights do hold value: "One need not sit in a mountain cave for years on end in deep meditation to attain self-knowledge, or lie on an analytic couch, because everything humanity does in the outer world blatantly reveals the nature of the human psyche deep within." But many other observations feel hackneyed: "Life is further complicated by the fact that opposites, besides repelling each other so violently, also attract!"

I'd recommend Jung's autobiography, Memories Dreams Reflections, for a better overview of this great psychologist and anthropologist of the psyche.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very readable explanation of Jung's beliefs.

[Joshua Kamp · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice tour of Jung's big ideas, but not very well written. It's not about applying Jung's theories to your daily life. It is very general overviews of Jungian ideas and the authors beliefs and opinions as well. It would definitely be very mind expanding for a person brand new to these ideas. Hmmm I want to like it but have mixed feelings.

[jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is my second reading of this book which attempts to condense the profoundly insightful truths of c.g.jung's work. jung's discoveries and explanations regarding typology, archetypes, the individuation of self, plus many other fundamental psychological principles have been incredibly helpful in assisting me understand and develop as a person and therapist. portions of the book become complicated and divergent (the section on mythology for one) for the untrained therapist. however overall the book shares some introductory assistance for those seeking greater psychological understanding and certainly a greater appreciation of jung's incredible contributions in assisting both one's increased self awareness and reality of the collective unconscious.

[Joli Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was interested to check this book out as an intro to Jung for my clients. I would hold it up with Inner Work by Johnson and Jung’s Map of the Soul by Stein as easy entries into Jungian introspection.

[Camille · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need to read this book again. I finished it while camping in Yosemite. If you can imagine, this book was a very heavy read in this instance. Such beauty it has to offer, if you can follow it!!!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read a couple of dozen books by Jung and about Jung. This is the one I’d recommend to anyone who would like an interesting and understandable introduction to the genius that was Carl Jung. I dithered between a four and a five, settling at four because there were a couple of chapters that seemed a bit off, a bit tedious.

[Kelsey G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first book about Jung psychology. Some parts I was looking forward to, like dream analysis, were really hard to get through. The author is very knowledgeable but equally wordy... Rating it 4 stars (3.5 would be more accurate) because the last chapter on 'active imagination' (similar to IFS) and the epilogue were excellent.

[Anita Ashland · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good introduction to Jung’s work and covers topics such as dream work, personality types, individuation, etc. I recommend it to any new to Jungian psycho wanting to learn more about Jung. Very easy to read and comprehend.

[Richoblivion · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am loved the book.

[Connie Cox]

This is a great book for both newbies and advanced practitioners of depth approaches. Very well written.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty good overview overall, though slightly hindered by a tendency toward repetitiveness and hyperbole. For instance, Pascal describes the ascension to "a new transpersonal space" as being "a state that is inconceivably greater than anything that can be defined." There's also a rather significant focus on the Greek gods as representing archetypes of the unconscious. This is a valuable insight (especially well developed is the section on the opposites of Apollo and Dionysus, and their reconciliation in the figure of Orpheus), though it was unclear to me whether the author was suggesting these as "paradigms" of symbols to be aware of, or whether he imagined the various Greek gods would actually appear in the dreams of average contemporary people; the latter seems fairly unlikely to me. Those few comments aside, this felt like a good primer to working with the creative (and yes, potentially life-changing) tools of Jung's principles. Pascal does a good job of delineating concepts such as the complexes, the shadow, the ego, and the Self (around which, he says, the ego merely revolves). He also deals extensively with Jungian typology (thinking, feeling, sensing, and intuiting, along with their various combinations), so-called masculine and feminine aspects of personality, and the role of the persona. Recommended.

[Dianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Figure I need Jung spoon fed to me. Too dumb to understand him in his own words.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant laypersons explanation of practical Jung pyschology. Brings in useful references to mythology, relationships and pop culture