A Life of Meaning: Exploring Our Deepest Questions and Motivations

by James Hollis

A Masterful Author and Jungian Analyst Examines the Qualities that Bring Meaning to Our Human Journey

What is it that brings meaning to your life? Our culture tells us to seek wealth, power, prestige, or even enrollment in someone else’s idea of a worthy cause—yet where do we turn when these myths fail to fulfill our need for purpose? “When the old stories and beliefs that once defined us have played out and grown exhausted,” teaches Dr. James Hollis, “our task is to access our inner compass, the promptings of the psyche that help us find our way through the complex thickets of choice.”

Investigate the Mystery of Your Existence Through the Portal of Depth Psychology

A Life of Meaning is a profound audio exploration of the nature of meaning and how we can orient toward it or away from it with the choices we make. Through examination of myth, literature, historical figures, and the wisdom of depth psychology, Hollis provides penetrating insight into the search for purpose. Here you’ll explore:

• How our story-seeking mind forms our sense of meaning from early experience
• Why these early stories inevitably fail as we are called to our own path
• Skillfully accessing the inner oracle of your dreams
• Shadow work—where we fear to tread, yet where our greatest treasures may be found
• Missing the mark—examining the archetype of the Seven Deadly Sins through a psychological lens
• Dispelling the “ghosts” that haunt our memories and possess our psyche
• Finding personal resilience in times of internal and external change
• Living more fully in the presence of our mortality
• Guidance for coming into alignment with your soul’s abiding quest for meaning at any stage of your life

Nobody else can provide you with a sense of meaning. Anyone who tries is attempting to enroll you in their own version. In A Life of Meaning, James Hollis offers no easy answers or feel-good certainties—instead, he shares his most valuable questions and reflections to help you find the courage, persistence, and inspiration to navigate your own odyssey. “It’s humbling work, this process of getting our lives back,” he teaches. “Yet I submit to you that's worth the price of the ticket, for in the journey our lives become ever more luminous.”

Genres: Psychology, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Self Help, Audiobook, Personal Development

Audio CD

First published December 1, 2020

About the author

James Hollis, Ph. D., was born in Springfield, Illinois, and graduated from Manchester University in 1962 and Drew University in 1967. He taught Humanities 26 years in various colleges and universities before retraining as a Jungian analyst at the Jung Institute of Zurich, Switzerland (1977-82). He is presently a licensed Jungian analyst in private practice in Washington, D.C. He served as Executive Director of the Jung Educational Center in Houston, Texas for many years and now was Executive Director of the Jung Society of Washington until 2019, and now serves on the JSW Board of Directors. He is a retired Senior Training Analyst for the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts, was first Director of Training of the Philadelphia Jung Institute, and is Vice-President Emeritus of the Philemon Foundation. Additionally he is a Professor of Jungian Studies for Saybrook University of San Francisco/Houston.

He lives with his wife Jill, an artist and retired therapist, in Washington, DC. Together they have three living children and eight grand-children.

He has written a total of seventeen books, which have been translated into Swedish, Russian, German, Spanish, French, Hungarian, Portuguese, Turkish, Italian, Korean, Finnish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Farsi, Japanese, Greek, Chinese, Serbian, Latvian, Ukranian and Czech.

Reviews

[Stephanie Barko]

This title is the June 2025 selection of South Austin Spiritual Book Group.

Although Hollis has written several books on the meaning of life, to me this book felt like an entertaining review of Jungian psychology. Reading Hollis' bio, I realized I likely took a class from him when he was ED of the Houston Jung Center during the '80s when I still lived there.

He starts his book by reminding us, as I always say "to stay in the question".
Here's how Hollis puts it: "large questions get us a larger life..."
"Answers tell us where we've been. Questions get us on our journey..."

He says we're not here to be cured because we're not a disease, we're a process."
"I am what is wanting expression through me, not what happened to me."

The slippery part is the shadow self.
"We do not become enlightened by imagining figures of light but by making our darkness visible."
Takes humility to air one's faults. And courage and grace. Laughter helps.

Hollis says that the second half of life is about recovering permission and removing ancestral blockage. If you've ever undergone Holographic Repatterning Therapy, you know what a mystical test of faith walking with ghosts is.

It was conforting to learn that "Most children are anxious about how things are going and how they're going to manage it all." I sure was that kid. Were you?

The book ends with a discussion of resilience and how to live when we know we're going to die.

If you have no grounding in psychology, the book will be overwhelming, but if you remember Jung superceding Freud and how monumental that has been for us all, you will enjoy remembering who you are with this book.

[Ade Adeniji]

Another gem from James Hollis. He revisits many themes from previous books and recording; not in a repetitive way, but from a consolidating and going deeper perspective. There are also many new jewels to be discovered.
It’s one to listen to over and over again. Great companion for our human journey.

[Lisa J Shultz]

This audio book was read by the author. I find his voice very soothing and enjoyable to listen to. More than that, his insights are valuable to me. He poses questions that are very thought provoking. I will probably listen again and take more notes the second time. I find this author perfect for me at midlife. I want to make the most of the time I have left living. The inner work he suggests prompts me to deeply reflect and craft a meaningful life.

[Sharman Russell]

I listened to this on audible and then--a rarity--also got the printed copy. That's mainly because as a writer and writing teacher I am so struck by the parallels between the writing process and the Jungian suggestion of active imagination. I'm returning to Jungian psychology after some years away. James Hollis has a lovely approach, humorous, contemporary, compassionate.

[Jeremy]

I was reading this Jungian book concurrently with a book of Jung's lectures/interviews, and I have to say, by contrast Hollis is refreshingly easier to understand than Jung himself. He did an excellent job wading through all of Jung's arcane, alchemical bullshit and distilling it down to more practical wisdom for living.

I found this book incredibly valuable as someone who intellectualizes everything and is extremely divorced from my body and my instincts. I often have to remind myself that a lot of the stories and rules I have constructed to make sense of the world are incompatible with the life that is spontaneously welling up inside of my deepest being. It's a fearful philosophy, piloted by the ego, which cuts you off from that inner reservoir of meaning, and causes you to flee from life!

It's tricky though, you don't want to simply regress to the state of a dog to be in instinctual harmony with yourself. Instead of dimming your light of consciousness, Hollis advises you to expand your consciousness, enlarge your being, by making the unconscious impulses/insights inside of you more conscious! But how do we do that?

Well according to Hollis, there are a few ways (including paying attention to your dreams and beginning an dialogue with your unconscious), but for me the most practical and actionable advice was to regularly ask yourself: "Does this choice diminish me, or enlarge me?” Deep down, you usually know, intuitively, whether remaining in a relationship or job would present the kind of challenges that will help you grow as a person or the kind that will cause your soul to shrivel with every passing week. Choose the challenge! Our task is to be defeated by greater and greater things!

I'll close the review by quoting Hollis, who is quoting Jung:

"The spirit of evil is the negation of the life force by fear. Only boldness can deliver us from fear. If the risk is not taken, the meaning of life is violated."

If you write those words down and put them on the bathroom mirror, look at them every day, reflect on them, and internalize them, it’ll change your life because you’ll start recognizing how many behaviors are fear based and what the alternative may be. What you get from that is a larger life.

[Sandra Lace]

Džeimss Holiss ir tas Junga psiholoģijas zinātājs un praktiķis, kuru ir jāiekļauj obligātajā lasāmvielā ap vidusmūžu (protams, agrāk arī var!). Jo ātrāk tiksim pie kārtības ar savām ēnām un uzdosim sev būtiskos jautājumus par savām reakcijām uz pasauli sev apkārt, jo jēgpilnāka un vieglāk dzīvojama būs dzīve. Šī grāmata kustina daudzus psihes kaktus, kuros ir vērts ielūkoties.

[M&A Ed]

این کتاب هدیه‌ای بود از سمت دوستی دانا!
پس‌ قبل از نقد این کتاب، بر خود واجب می‌دانم که مراتب سپاسگزاری خود را از همه‌ی دوستان عزیزی که مهربانی‌هایشان پیوسته شامل ما می‌شود به انجام رسانم چرا که"دوستان کتاب‌خوان، همچون ستارگانی در شب تاریک‌اند که با هر کتابی که می‌خوانند، آسمان ذهن را روشن‌تر می‌سازند و دلی پر از راز و نور به‌جا می‌گذارند."
جیمز هالیس، روان‌درمانگر یونگی، در این کتاب به بحران میان‌سالی می‌پردازد و توضیح می‌دهد که چگونه انسان در نیمه‌ٔ دوم عمر، به‌جای دنبال کردن توقعات دیگران، باید معنای شخصی زندگی خود را کشف کند. در نیمه‌ٔ اول زندگی، بیشتر افراد سعی می‌کنند با ساختن هویت اجتماعی (شغل، ازدواج، خانواده) احساس امنیت کنند.
اما در میانهٔ عمر، این هویت ممکن است زیر سؤال برود و فرد با «بحران معنا» روبه‌رو شود. بحران میان‌سالی فرصتی است برای بازگشت به خود و کشف آرزوها و ارزش‌های واقعی.
از قسمت‌های قابل توجه کتاب می‌توان به نگاه درونی و تامل‌برانگیز جیمز هالیس با کمک از الگوهای یونگی به بحران میان‌سالی اشاره کرد. برخلاف بسیاری از کتاب‌های خودیاری، هالیس نمی‌خواهد نسخه‌ای برای «موفقیت بیرونی» بدهد، بلکه خواننده را دعوت به سفر درونی می‌کند. اما از اندک قسمت‌هایی که خواننده را در درک و دریافت مسائل ممکن است دچار مشکل کند عدم ارائه‌ی راهکار عملی مستقیم اشاره کرد و خواننده بیشتر حس می‌کند که کتاب بیشتر تحلیلی و نظری است تا راهبردی. برخی خوانندگان که دنبال «چه کار کنم؟» هستند، ممکن است احساس سردرگمی کنند. مثالی خوب از عدم ارائه راهکار عملی مستقیم در کتاب «زندگی معنا» نوشته‌ی جیمز هالیس، این جمله معروف اوست: «آنچه ما آن را بحران می‌نامیم، دعوتی‌ست به رشد.»
در این‌جا، او به‌جای آن‌که بگوید «در بحران چه کنیم؟» یا «چه مراحلی را طی کنیم؟»، صرفاً برداشت فلسفی از بحران ارائه می‌دهد. خواننده ممکن است بپرسد:
چطور رشد کنم؟ از کجا شروع کنم؟ چه تغییری باید بدهم؟

[Dan Carey]

My familiarity with Jungian analysis extended little further than the depth of a wikipedia article. So for all intents and purposes, this was my introduction to the subject. Hollis is a very experienced analyst and an engaging speaker. This audiobook is presented like a set of sessions in which Hollis (as far as I can tell) speaking solely from notes rather than written-out text. It has that sort of rhythm to it. And it is only available as an audiobook. Which is kind of a pity, because there were passages that, if I had the text in front of me, I know I would have pored over to get more familiar with the details or concepts.

[Catherine Arne]

excellent grist for the mill

A deep, nuanced, psychologically astute examination of what makes for a meaningful life. I highlighted many passages that spoke to me; it’s one of those books that probably hit you differently each time you read it as you are on a different spot each time and grappling with different issues.

[Pedram]

Important Lessons from this book:
You have to pay close attention to your psyche. there's something in you that knows what's best for you
You have to be accountable and show up for yourself every day in different areas of life.
You have let go of the ego & the wrong past beliefs to be able to construct new beliefs and ways of living.

[Libby S]

I loved this. Worth a read or listen if you want to reflect on life and meaning (it's in the name really).

[Bassmh]

A very rich book that helped me reflect on my life in its many aspects; past, present and future.

As I’m approaching middle age I am grateful to have come across this book.

It’s a book that I’ll be re-reading every few years for sure.

[Edu Vias]

A ver veamos…! Este es objetivamente un *gran libro* y no lo voy a poner en duda porque contiene mucho aprendizaje vital que puede andamiar cualquier vida SIN EMBARGO es cierto que (al menos para mí) este aprendizaje se concentra en los primeros capítulos y luego se desinfla (??) hasta el punto en el que me lleva a dudar de algunas cosas :’(

A cualquiera que le interese este tema le recomiendo leérselo 100%, pero 1000% recomiendo la entrevista de Huberman a Hollis, q está en youtube y que me hizo descubrir a este escritor. Más de dos horas pero aprendí, tomé apuntes, lo prometo!!

[Hampus Jakobsson]

For me, Jungian psychology is a bit of a woo-woo approach to recounting dreams, recognizing "archetypal stories" (which can tend to be horoscopes), and then "understanding yourself." But James Hollis has turned me around. 

The book explains how narratives define you—something I believe in. But those narratives can be "hauntings"—unresolved past patterns—personal or ancestral—that hold one back. Awareness enables an authentic choice; what do you actually want? And, that we have completely lost connection to something "meaningful." 

We still live in the shadows of our parents and ancestors: 

The desired outcome of therapy is the discovery that we are not what happened to but what we chose to become. (...) What happened 'out there' is not who we are.

We have to remember the presence of those large figures in our lives we call the "parent complexes." Too often people think we're just blaming parents. That's not the point at all. It's rather to ask the question, in how many ways are the parents' presences still here, even when they are deceased? (---) It's not a question of whether they're there; it's how they are there, what their messages are, and what influence plays out through our choices."

Where we refuse to grow up are waiting for complete clarity and information before making decisions, or are waiting for somebody to show up and tell us what to do is deferred authority.

All of that is shadow because it infantilizes our summons to accountability. All of that allows us to avoid stepping into the large summons of the soul. And any life based on avoidance is a scant life."

And, as we have "agreed to give up meaning in exchange for power," we have also lost meaning: 

In a 1939 speech in London, Jung noted that absent a sense of connection to something numinous, we have to create disturbances. Speaking of that troubled hour before the great conflagration, Jung noted that, paradoxically, many would welcome war because at last they could live in relationship to something bigger than themselves."

We will be captivated or owned by our projection of the need to connect with the numinous through external objects of desire, such as materialism, romance, power, and so forth. (---). That's how we get hooked to fads, to fashions, to obsessions, to popular enthusiasms. When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping.

"I don't believe in God anymore, but I sure do miss him." I thought that sentence was so telling about a profound nostalgia for a meaningful story and yet the person's present inability to affirm that story.

And, it is easy to confuse that religious belief with a belief in a tangible higher power, but maybe it is just a belief in something bigger than yourself:

You have to realize that what is sacred is not the light bulb but the energy that infuses the bulb with light. When the energy is depleted, the bulb is left behind.

[Pat Rolston]

This is an audio book that is read by the author. I listened to this as a sort of consolidation of the previous two James Hollis books I read and it is the third in a relatively short time. I have never listened to or read three books by any author out side of trilogies planned as such. The author is also an outstanding reader and his content didn’t disappoint. I have always been intrigued by Jung and read his, Red Book, as well as Memories, Dreams, Reflections. This background led to my deep appreciation for the author James Hollis who trained in the Jungian Institute from 1977-1982 and was a professor of the humanities for 26 years before going into private counselling. This audio book did just as I had hoped in providing a fantastic framework for personal reflection and consideration of ways to improve my quality of life and those with whom I associate. Dr Hollis is a master guiding the development of the process delving into the subconscious and dream state to illuminate the conscious state. In short he brings us light where there was once dark literally and figuratively. If you want to explore your inner being to improve the quality of your daily life and those around you I highly recommend the author and reader Dr Hollis.

[Mary]

This book was not only absolutely fascinating and well written, but was extremely thought provoking. Though I am not a Jungian psychoanalyst, I appreciated how Hollis brought in an interdisciplinary approach to Jung's methodology and made it practical for reflections. I appreciated how he framed many things and I found myself asking more questions in a way that makes me want to revisit this book again and again in order to learn more.

[Seyed-Sajad Hamedheydari]

نمی‌دونم ترجمه‌ی کتاب خوب نبود یا اینکه متن اصلی هم واقعاً به همین مقدار گُنگ نوشته شده، اما نتونستم خیلی ارتباط برقرار کنم با کتاب. شاید هم نیازمند اینه که با کارهای یونگ آشنایی داشته باشیم، چون الگوی نویسنده یونگ بوده و زیاد بهش ارجاع می‌ده.

[Diana Silvia]

“Faptul că suntem prezenți, că participăm la viață cât de bine putem, faptul că ne luam la trântă cu întrebări importante, faptul că urmărim misterul care ne stă în față și că acceptăm cu bucurie să fim învinși de lucruri tot mai mari, toate acestea sunt motivele pentru care suntem aici.“

[Joelean]

“We all have a compass, and the question is, do you know you have one? Do you know how to access it? Do you risk trusting it?”

[Donna]

Another excellent and timely meditation on the significance of meaning in our lives.

[Sarah]

I think Mollie Adler from the back from the borderline podcast recommended this. It’s great—jungian depth psychology written in a conversational style.

[Elīna Grantiņa]

Patiesi vērtīga un domas rosinoša grāmata. Par nāvi,Ego un Es.

[Janelle Hanchett]

I love this man and have found real help and insight from him as I navigate middle age and the process of individuation.

[Rory]

“There’s also a collective sense of betrayal. People who have tried to do all the right things often, at midlife, will find themselves experiencing a depression or feeling a lack of satisfaction in what they’re doing. Such moments feel like betrayals: I did the best I could, I did what I was supposed to do, and why does it not work out? Why is it so difficult?”

Books seem to show up in life when you need them the most.
I had no idea who James Hollis was until I heard him on the Huberman podcast. This book is not your run of the mill self-help book. Hollis challenges us to ask the deep questions about our life’s path. Strongly based in Jungian psychology, Hollis calls on us to pay attention to our sub-conscious aspirations as brought forth in our dreams. He makes the point that to ignore the spiritual meaning that our sub-consciousness is seeking to manifest in the world will bring about suffering.

“In our world, the de facto religion of materialism leads to this dilemma that we all have. If we don’t encounter the numinous in the outer world and the inner world, it will manifest itself as somatic illness for us or some form of pathology. Or we’ll be owned by it in our search for it among the objects upon which we projected our existential yearning in the outer world. New shiny objects, seductive electronic technologies, sex and romance, hedonism, self-absorption, and most of all distractions by a noisy culture constitute the chief spirituality of our time.”

This is an important book for the time we live in. The distractions we face in our modern lives are countless and make it difficult to consider the deeper purpose in our lives. This book forces you to stop and re-examine your life’s journey, an essential step for those who strive to live a life of meaning.

[Leanne Hunt]

This is an excellent introduction to the work of James Hollis and Jungian psychology. It takes the form of eight sessions which are structured like lectures, although the content is flawlrss, as in a book. I enjoyed the way the sessions were arranged, with subjects building on one another and culminating in a final chapter on how to live each day with a view to getting the most out of your life.

[Benedict Findlay]

I have really enjoyed reading Jame Hollis' stuff. His clear yet lyrical prose captures the basic ideas of Jungian psychology and presents them in an easy-to-understand but nonetheless vivid way. Hollis, however, not only offers a stepping stones into the world of Jungian psychology but also adds his own to the ideas he presents. I can't do justice to the whole book, so I'll set a couple of the concepts I liked in the book.

The first one that I liked was the idea of resonance. Resonance describes the stirring feeling, however large or small, you feel when you encounter something in the world. Hollis uses a Emily Dickinson's quote - that 'the Sailor cannot see the North, but knows the Needle can' - to describe that feeling. He says feeling of resonance, like the Needle, provides the sense of directionality that you, the Sailor, might not be able to consciously grasp. Hollis asks the reader to, when they experience resonance, to ask what resonates with them and why it does so.

The other one I liked is the idea of projection. My best understanding of projecting is that to project onto someone is to give them characteristics they likely do not have, with the consequence that these projections often do evoke the whole spectrum of emotions from disgust to admiration. Perhaps the easiest of the projections to understand are especially strong projections of romantic relationships, where the traits in other are almost deified, but projections can, and frequently do, happen with anyone, with different people eliciting different projections of differing strength and emotionality. But what Hollis says these projections are doing is projecting some part of you that you are inadequately tending to. Hollis says that we should ask ourselves what it is that we project onto others so that we might understand the areas where we need to cultivate ourselves.

I think, overall, that Hollis provides the reader with new ways of looking at their old problems while imploring the reader to ask bigger and bigger questions of themselves. Also shoutout for being the first time I read poetry and found it evocative rather than feeling that it just was a big bag of baloney.

[Books Before Bs]

‘A Life of Meaning’ is an interesting and accessible read for anyone looking to learn more about depth psychology and how to build a meaningful life, as defined by what is meaningful to them, on their deepest level, not by what is considered meaningful to those close to them or to society. I found it to be less engaging and informative than Hollis’ other work, ‘Creating a Life: Finding Your Individual Path’, and it doesn’t cover any new ground. Nor does the information provided expand upon that given in numerous interviews with Hollis.

In essence, the book is about identifying what it is that your psyche wishes to express through you by paying attention to your dreams and the symptoms that crop up in your life, by learning to ask the right questions (and continuing to ask the right questions), and by peeling away the stories you tell yourself and the stories told to you and about you by those who have raised you, who engage with you, and wider society. Then it is about having the courage and endurance to follow that inner compass provided by the psyche.

‘A Life of Meaning’ makes a great starting point if you are new to Hollis’ work and depth psychology, but those who have already read some of Hollis’ other books or watched/listened to his interviews may find it doesn’t provide any additional information or food for thought.

[Mike Kanner]

Since retiring last year, I have been looking for purpose and direction to a life not defined by my job. Because of this, Hollis' book showed up as a recommendation through Kindle Unlimited.

This is not an easy read. Although it is not drenched in academic or psychological jargon, the subject matter often requires rereading passages. Dr. Hollis uses Jungian psychology to help the reader understand their lives. He does not give you a to-do list or specific suggestions. He asks questions and asks you to consider how you would answer them.

I don't know if I have any answers. However, I do have a better understanding of how my life has progressed and why I have a certain worldview.

[Maris]

Kas gan ir labāks jautājums jauna gada sākumā- kāda ir jēgpilna dzīve?
Manuprāt, šī ir lieliska 1. grāmata ar ko sākt iepazīt Junga idejas. Diezgan vispārīgi, bet ir iezīmētas galvenās idejas, kurām katram vajadzētu pievērst uzmanību savas dzīves laikā.

"Mēs zinām, ko vēlas pasaule, mūsu vecāki, darba devējs un popkultūra, bet ko vēlas psihe? Psihe mūs aizvedīs tur, kur mēs, iespējams, nevēlamies doties, bet kur mums ir paredzēts būt. Jautāt, ko vēlas psihe, nozīmē censties atgūt iekšējo kompasu. Ikvienam no mums ir savs kompass, tikai- vai mēs zinām, kā tam piekļūt? Vai riskējam tam uzticēties?"

[Reece]

The unofficial sequel to his 2020 book Living Between Worlds.

"What I've become is now my chief obstacle"

Hollis provides some dignity to offset the maelstorm of triumphs, disappointments, decisions and indecision that we come to know as life. Just imagine outliving your adult child as Hollis sadly did. I can't even begin to know how that must feel.

Readers are encouraged to look at all the misery, suffering, and uncertainty dead in the eye, and still conclude that it is all worth it. And Hollis, in his eighties now, still holds optimism in the face of it all.