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Jung the Mystic: The Esoteric Dimensions of Carl Jung's Life & Teachings
This bold, compact new biography of Carl Jung fills a gap in our understanding of the pioneering psychiatrist by focusing on the occult and mystical dimension of Jung's life and work, a critical but frequently misunderstood facet of his career.
Although he is often called the "founding father of the New Age," Carl Jung, the legendary Swiss psychiatrist best known for his groundbreaking concepts like the collective unconscious, archetype theory, and synchronicity, often took pains to avoid any explicit association with mysticism or the occult. Yet Jung lived a life rich in paranormal experiences-arguing for the existence of poltergeists in a debate with Sigmund Freud, participating in séances, incorporating astrology into his therapeutic work, reporting a near death experience, and collaborating with the pioneering ESP researcher J. B. Rhine. It is these critical experiences-often fleetingly touched on in other biographies or critical studies, and just as frequently used to make a case against Jung and his philosophies-that form the core of this exciting new biography, Jung the Mystic .
While Jung's ghostwritten memoirs, Memories, Dreams, Reflections , touch on the role his mystical and occult experiences played in his life, Gary Lachman's Jung the Mystic completes the Lachman assesses Jung's life and work from the viewpoint of Western esoteric tradition and helpfully places Jung in the context of other major esoteric thinkers, such as Rudolf Steiner, G. I. Gurdjieff, and Emanuel Swedenborg. In that respect, this new biography appeals directly to the sensibility of spiritual readers who rightly see Jung as a pioneer of today's contemporary metaphysical culture.
Although he is often called the "founding father of the New Age," Carl Jung, the legendary Swiss psychiatrist best known for his groundbreaking concepts like the collective unconscious, archetype theory, and synchronicity, often took pains to avoid any explicit association with mysticism or the occult. Yet Jung lived a life rich in paranormal experiences-arguing for the existence of poltergeists in a debate with Sigmund Freud, participating in séances, incorporating astrology into his therapeutic work, reporting a near death experience, and collaborating with the pioneering ESP researcher J. B. Rhine. It is these critical experiences-often fleetingly touched on in other biographies or critical studies, and just as frequently used to make a case against Jung and his philosophies-that form the core of this exciting new biography, Jung the Mystic .
While Jung's ghostwritten memoirs, Memories, Dreams, Reflections , touch on the role his mystical and occult experiences played in his life, Gary Lachman's Jung the Mystic completes the Lachman assesses Jung's life and work from the viewpoint of Western esoteric tradition and helpfully places Jung in the context of other major esoteric thinkers, such as Rudolf Steiner, G. I. Gurdjieff, and Emanuel Swedenborg. In that respect, this new biography appeals directly to the sensibility of spiritual readers who rightly see Jung as a pioneer of today's contemporary metaphysical culture.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published May 26, 2010
102 people are currently reading
1865 people want to read
About the author
Gary Lachman
65 books450 followersGary Lachman is an American writer and musician. Lachman is best known to readers of mysticism and the occult from the numerous articles and books he has published.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
April 14, 2014
If you want a bio on Jung, this probably shouldn't be your first choice. If you want a book detailing Jung's contributions to psychology, this book will not really be adequate. If you believe that Jung had paranormal experiences that lead him to his most meaningful discoveries in psychology, then this is your book! This book focuses on those experiences and deftly ties them in to how Jung overcame and then translated/assimilated them into a new system of understanding and perspective which helped people overcome their mental challenges. A moderately 'good read'.
August 28, 2010
A mediocre re-hash of what is already known about Jung. The book appears to be (deceptively) marketed to people who buy books with the words "mystic" and "esoteric" in the title, because there is almost nothing here that discusses either the psychological or religious aspects of mysticism. Instead, the author frequently mentions Jung in the same breath with Gurdjieff so as to draw crude parallels between these two men who have nothing in common. Also, the author presumes that because Jung was a dense writer who was not a systematic thinker, then he must be a closet mystic who hid behind the label of "scientist." The reader would do well to look elsewhere if interested in Jung, or mysticism, or both.
October 24, 2010
A clear-eyed look at the more mystical aspects of Jung's life. Better early - the end seems rushed and less detailed.
November 18, 2023
This book explored Jung's life and career in the world of psychology and the views of how the paranormal could be viewed in connection to psychology. I enjoyed this books and felt like I learned more about Jung as a person and a professional. In some instances I feel like the code of ethics was changed due to Jung's relationships with clients and former clients.
February 7, 2011
Although I expected more owing to the title of this book regarding the 'esoteric dimensions' & mysticism associated/assumed with Jung (chapter 8 onwards is distinctly more in line with the author's thesis), I did find this book to be an interesting addition to popular biography. Lachman has left it to others to prove/disprove Jung was a mystic. I certainly would have welcomed more in the intended subject & less on the already well-known history of Jung's life, & a few photographs would have been appreciated. Aside, the author, a founding member of Blondie (surprise!), has created a good, brief, readable & well-footnoted summary of a very complex man's life. 3.5 stars
November 21, 2014
On the twenty-sixth day of July in 1875, Carl Gustav Jung was born to Reverend Paul Jung and Emilie Preiswerk in Kesswil, Thurgau. C.G Jung had an eventful childhood; his father struggled as a reverend, husband and father while his mother suffered from mental illness and the death of her first child. Jung’s mother, Emilie Preiswerk, as a teenager was employed by her father so that she could ward off the dead while he worked as a Reverend. According to the author of Jung the Mystic (Copyright, 2010), Gary Lachman addresses Jung’s connection with his mother. Lachman explains, throughout Jung’s mother’s life she communicated with the dead. Jung believed that his mother had a “split personality” and he would often find her talking to herself in trance. She ended up being hospitalized for a number of months, when Jung was a small child, due to her mental illness; he grew apart from her and eventually recognized many of the same characteristics of his mother, in himself (Lachman, p.18). As the distance between Jung and his parents lengthened, Jung became more and more interested in isolation. Jung had an introverted personality, which is one of the six psychological types that later in Jung’s life he discovers as a part of personality theory. Jung’s personal experiences shaped his career as psychiatrist and psychotherapist. Although Carl G. Jung considered Sigmund Freud as a respected father figure, he could no longer stand their disagreements. Even though there were consistencies between his own work and Freud’s, he never understood Freud’s fascination with sexuality; this was one of their largest disagreements. Jung had a more spiritual outlook on sexual symbolism, whereas Freud explained sexual themes as a form of sexual gratification (Lachman, 2010, p.96). Freud’s influence on Jung was only a starting point; however, when Jung decided to add new concepts and to follow his own beliefs of the collective unconscious and archetypes, he was able to individualize himself. Jung’s work isn’t always the most convincing, but people recognize portions of his theories and use it in their everyday language. People speak of Jung’s archetypes and they connect them to spirituality, but they don’t necessarily know where these ideas came from. The most prominent of Jung’s work which continues to be of great use is the psychological types and functions that he developed. The concept of personality preferences being placed on a scale of extroversion and introversion will continue to represent individual personality characteristics in order to understand the theory of personality.
December 18, 2018
This book gave me an entirely new view of Jung's work. Granted, I had only read excerpts of his writings before coming to this biography, but it set everything I'd read in a new and intriguing context. For instance, I had no clue that his ideas formed so much of the basis for popular New Age teaching. It will be interesting to keep these connections in mind as I continue to explore his work.
October 22, 2011
This is more or less a digest of Jung's thinking on mystical subjects, conveniently all in one book.
January 27, 2025
This book focuses on the paranormal or mystical aspect of Jung's body of work and personal life. It does not cover much outside of these facets of his experience and work, and it doesn't claim to. I am not an expert on Jung, but I have read a bit of his work, and I thought this was pretty interesting and well-researched reframe of what I have learned and a cool augmentation of my existing knowledge.
This book was well-researched and interesting, but I found the ending a bit weak and the book a little less cohesive than what I would expect or hope for from Lachman.
This book was well-researched and interesting, but I found the ending a bit weak and the book a little less cohesive than what I would expect or hope for from Lachman.
June 13, 2020
This is my first biography of Jung, and I’m not at all sure this is the one to start with. Years ago, when my first marriage ended and I was going through a personal crisis, a friend recommended I read Memories, Dreams, and Reflections, and I did. I’ve re-read it a couple of times since. I also at one time owned The Portable Jung, and had read through that, which collects famous and noteworthy essays from his whole career. I remember hearing that Robertson Davies—who was never daunted by any reading task—read through Jung’s entire Collected Works (his novel The Manticore concerns a Jungian analysis). And Jung was always a hero of the men’s groups I worked with, partly because James Hillman, a renegade Jungian, was part of that work, also because many of Jung’s ideas, like anima and animus, and working with the shadow, seemed important to us.
I picked up this book because my wife had it around, and I was interested to note that, not only had Lachman written books on Rudolf Steiner, P. D. Ouspensky, Madame Blavatsky, even Swendenborg, but he was also once a member of the rock group Blondie. The man has been busy. And while he might be just the person to answer the question posed by his book, he also seems to have a prejudice in one direction. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Probably anybody would.
My understanding is that Freud was obsessed with making his work scientific because what he was saying was radical and bound to offend people, and he wanted to have a scientific basis for it. Those who followed him didn’t necessarily feel that way, Jung in particular, who began as a disciple of Freud but eventually drifted away. The thing I hadn’t known about Jung, but which seems more than passingly important, was that he married a fabulously wealthy woman, so that he never had money worries, all his life. I’m sure his profession was important to him, and his professional standing, but he had an independence that other men didn’t.
One way in which he was not professional in a modern sense was that he had affairs with his female patients. That happened not just once, but several times. It is also true—even a person with a casual acquaintance with Jung sees this—that many of his followers were women, including some of his most important and insightful interpreters, especially Marie Louise von Franz, who was just a teenager when they met. His work appealed to women as perhaps Freud’s appealed to men. He also worked with several female patients who became analysts themselves. That makes sense to me in a way. If the method has brought about a cure for you, maybe you can pass it on to someone else.
That doesn’t necessarily make you a scientist.
Jung’s ancestors were clergymen, his father a notably unhappy one, and Jung himself had the famous vision—recounted in Memories, Dreams, and Reflections—in which God dropped a massive turd on the Basel Cathedral, destroying forever Jung’s conventional religious beliefs. But Jung was not, I would say, an irreligious man. In a famous late interview on the television program Face to Face, he was asked if he believed in God, and he replied, “Believe? Hard to say. I know.” He also wrote, in 1935, after his sister Trudi died—when he was sixty—“What happens after death is so unspeakably glorious that our imagination and feelings do not suffice to form even an approximate conception of it.” How he knew that I don’t know.
I would say that the task of Jung’s entire life was essentially religious (I think of the religious quest as facing the large questions of humankind). He agreed with Freud on the importance of the unconscious, but did not agree that it was strictly personal; his concept of the collective unconscious, which in some ways resembles the Big Mind that Buddhists talk about, gives a spiritual depth to the whole idea. His confrontation with his own unconscious, a period of five years when he gave up seeing patients and writing for publication, was remarkably courageous, and apparently led to all of his later work. It was during that time that Jung created the famous Red Book, with its obscure writing and stunning artwork. Jung himself denied being a mystic as he denied being an artist, but others might disagree.
Jung was profoundly an introvert (another concept he is credited with creating); in the tower which he built beside the lake on his property, he would spend hours and days by himself, and he admitted only a few people to its precincts. The place didn’t have running water or cooking facilities, but Jung—who loved to cook, and loved to eat—liked the primitive life he led there. Supposedly as he got older he would spend hours sitting in that tower doing nothing, not exactly practicing meditation, but something like that. His practice of active imagination also resembled some forms of meditation.
The most interesting single incident in the book occurred in 1944, when Jung was 68. He slipped on some ice and broke a bone in his leg, then ten days later suffered a myocardial infarct caused by embolisms from his leg, and had either a period of delirium or an out-of-the-body near-death experience. The description of it is spectacular, and actually worth the price of the whole book. He was transported to a place where present, past, and future all existed at once, and though a messenger came and told him he had to return to earth, he didn’t want to, and it took him several weeks to resign himself to being back. Lachman says, “Jung was convinced that what he experienced wasn’t simply hallucinations cause by his illness, but that he had been granted a vision of reality. It was ‘utterly real’ and had ‘a quality of absolute objectivity’” Afterwards “Jung was humbled and felt an acceptance of things ‘as they are.’”
I must admit that, throughout this book, I wondered a bit about the author. Lachman obviously has a predilection for a certain kind of spirituality—the word Theosophy comes to mind—and sometimes compared Jung to subjects of his earlier books like Rudolph Steiner and Gurdjieff. This isn’t a long biography and it sometimes seemed mildly sensationalized, though it was certainly entertaining. When I finished, however, I went through his afterward and notes carefully, and he did seem to have consulted authoritative sources. If he emphasized the sensational aspects of Jung’s life, it created an entertaining book. And I definitely learned some things I hadn’t known.
Jung was a big earthy man with a great love for food and drink; as a young man was known as the Barrel for the amount he drank. His table manners were atrocious, annoying his family, but he never changed them. He was just as happy to eat in the tower by himself, and often did. He was extremely neat; even in that primitive tower, everything had its place, and had to be just right for him to work.
On July 6, 1961, after he had been ill for some time, he said to his friend Ruth Bailey, who was taking care of him, “Let’s have a really good red wine tonight.” But later that afternoon he entered into a coma, and died soon after that. Perhaps he returned to that place that he’d been in his near-death experience, an “orbiting Hindu temple, where all those people who whom he really belonged were waiting for him.” He must have been happy to go. He’d wanted to stay there in the first place.
www.davidguy.org
I picked up this book because my wife had it around, and I was interested to note that, not only had Lachman written books on Rudolf Steiner, P. D. Ouspensky, Madame Blavatsky, even Swendenborg, but he was also once a member of the rock group Blondie. The man has been busy. And while he might be just the person to answer the question posed by his book, he also seems to have a prejudice in one direction. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Probably anybody would.
My understanding is that Freud was obsessed with making his work scientific because what he was saying was radical and bound to offend people, and he wanted to have a scientific basis for it. Those who followed him didn’t necessarily feel that way, Jung in particular, who began as a disciple of Freud but eventually drifted away. The thing I hadn’t known about Jung, but which seems more than passingly important, was that he married a fabulously wealthy woman, so that he never had money worries, all his life. I’m sure his profession was important to him, and his professional standing, but he had an independence that other men didn’t.
One way in which he was not professional in a modern sense was that he had affairs with his female patients. That happened not just once, but several times. It is also true—even a person with a casual acquaintance with Jung sees this—that many of his followers were women, including some of his most important and insightful interpreters, especially Marie Louise von Franz, who was just a teenager when they met. His work appealed to women as perhaps Freud’s appealed to men. He also worked with several female patients who became analysts themselves. That makes sense to me in a way. If the method has brought about a cure for you, maybe you can pass it on to someone else.
That doesn’t necessarily make you a scientist.
Jung’s ancestors were clergymen, his father a notably unhappy one, and Jung himself had the famous vision—recounted in Memories, Dreams, and Reflections—in which God dropped a massive turd on the Basel Cathedral, destroying forever Jung’s conventional religious beliefs. But Jung was not, I would say, an irreligious man. In a famous late interview on the television program Face to Face, he was asked if he believed in God, and he replied, “Believe? Hard to say. I know.” He also wrote, in 1935, after his sister Trudi died—when he was sixty—“What happens after death is so unspeakably glorious that our imagination and feelings do not suffice to form even an approximate conception of it.” How he knew that I don’t know.
I would say that the task of Jung’s entire life was essentially religious (I think of the religious quest as facing the large questions of humankind). He agreed with Freud on the importance of the unconscious, but did not agree that it was strictly personal; his concept of the collective unconscious, which in some ways resembles the Big Mind that Buddhists talk about, gives a spiritual depth to the whole idea. His confrontation with his own unconscious, a period of five years when he gave up seeing patients and writing for publication, was remarkably courageous, and apparently led to all of his later work. It was during that time that Jung created the famous Red Book, with its obscure writing and stunning artwork. Jung himself denied being a mystic as he denied being an artist, but others might disagree.
Jung was profoundly an introvert (another concept he is credited with creating); in the tower which he built beside the lake on his property, he would spend hours and days by himself, and he admitted only a few people to its precincts. The place didn’t have running water or cooking facilities, but Jung—who loved to cook, and loved to eat—liked the primitive life he led there. Supposedly as he got older he would spend hours sitting in that tower doing nothing, not exactly practicing meditation, but something like that. His practice of active imagination also resembled some forms of meditation.
The most interesting single incident in the book occurred in 1944, when Jung was 68. He slipped on some ice and broke a bone in his leg, then ten days later suffered a myocardial infarct caused by embolisms from his leg, and had either a period of delirium or an out-of-the-body near-death experience. The description of it is spectacular, and actually worth the price of the whole book. He was transported to a place where present, past, and future all existed at once, and though a messenger came and told him he had to return to earth, he didn’t want to, and it took him several weeks to resign himself to being back. Lachman says, “Jung was convinced that what he experienced wasn’t simply hallucinations cause by his illness, but that he had been granted a vision of reality. It was ‘utterly real’ and had ‘a quality of absolute objectivity’” Afterwards “Jung was humbled and felt an acceptance of things ‘as they are.’”
I must admit that, throughout this book, I wondered a bit about the author. Lachman obviously has a predilection for a certain kind of spirituality—the word Theosophy comes to mind—and sometimes compared Jung to subjects of his earlier books like Rudolph Steiner and Gurdjieff. This isn’t a long biography and it sometimes seemed mildly sensationalized, though it was certainly entertaining. When I finished, however, I went through his afterward and notes carefully, and he did seem to have consulted authoritative sources. If he emphasized the sensational aspects of Jung’s life, it created an entertaining book. And I definitely learned some things I hadn’t known.
Jung was a big earthy man with a great love for food and drink; as a young man was known as the Barrel for the amount he drank. His table manners were atrocious, annoying his family, but he never changed them. He was just as happy to eat in the tower by himself, and often did. He was extremely neat; even in that primitive tower, everything had its place, and had to be just right for him to work.
On July 6, 1961, after he had been ill for some time, he said to his friend Ruth Bailey, who was taking care of him, “Let’s have a really good red wine tonight.” But later that afternoon he entered into a coma, and died soon after that. Perhaps he returned to that place that he’d been in his near-death experience, an “orbiting Hindu temple, where all those people who whom he really belonged were waiting for him.” He must have been happy to go. He’d wanted to stay there in the first place.
www.davidguy.org
June 30, 2012
This is a short biography showing how Jung's life experiences influenced the development of his theories. It explains Jung's relationship with Freud (a one-time mentor) and his recently uncovered roll in World War II. It concludes with a commentary on Jung's writings, on what has been written about him and on his enduring imprint on psychology and other disciplines.
The author, Gary Lachman is a former musician (founder of Blondie and inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) and not an academic or journalist. He has produced a well-researched volume written with such clarity that (were the thesis not mysticism) it would have pleased Jung who wrote for the "common man".
While Jung would emphasize his role as a scientist and minimize the mystical elements of his theories, from what is presented here, his mysticism is fundamental and impossible to deny.
I was glad for the detail on the Freud relationship and the vindication of Jung's WWII work. It is interesting that Jung's work for the OSS (predecessor to the CIA) makes him (perhaps) the first psychological profiler.
The relationship with Emma Jung is probably worthy of a book (perhaps there is one). She appears to give all from her wealth which helped establish his early career to the end of life arrangements she made for him before her own death. She seems to get only infidelity in return. There are glimmers of her striking back, for instance she wrote to Freud about her husband's affairs.
I found this book very helpful in understanding Jung and his ideas and his role in the development of psychoanalytic practice. I recommend it for anyone who wants a basic knowledge of Jung.
The author, Gary Lachman is a former musician (founder of Blondie and inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) and not an academic or journalist. He has produced a well-researched volume written with such clarity that (were the thesis not mysticism) it would have pleased Jung who wrote for the "common man".
While Jung would emphasize his role as a scientist and minimize the mystical elements of his theories, from what is presented here, his mysticism is fundamental and impossible to deny.
I was glad for the detail on the Freud relationship and the vindication of Jung's WWII work. It is interesting that Jung's work for the OSS (predecessor to the CIA) makes him (perhaps) the first psychological profiler.
The relationship with Emma Jung is probably worthy of a book (perhaps there is one). She appears to give all from her wealth which helped establish his early career to the end of life arrangements she made for him before her own death. She seems to get only infidelity in return. There are glimmers of her striking back, for instance she wrote to Freud about her husband's affairs.
I found this book very helpful in understanding Jung and his ideas and his role in the development of psychoanalytic practice. I recommend it for anyone who wants a basic knowledge of Jung.
August 6, 2016
Lachman sets out on a righteous venture to reveal the mystical side of Carl Jung, in the form of a biography. We see Jung's development as a person as it pertains chiefly to the search for the inner world, and the insights he gained regarding the same. Full of specific instances in Jung's life that illustrate his own search, Jung the Mystic paints a picture that will appeal to spiritual seekers that admire the character of his work, rather than to pure psychoanalysts that might pick at the details for further insight. Perhaps the expert would regard the book as shallow; incomplete, certainly. But the style is accessible, and the reader trusts this author's research and journalism.
Here is described the experience that lies behind creative visualization, channeled writing, mandala-work, theories of individuation, and much more. I found a nice resonance in Lachman's storytelling with my own experience and practice of these Jungian ideas, and it's a treat to have it linked directly to Jung's own personal explorations.
One might value this book chiefly for its confirmation of the value that Jungian spiritual practices hold. Jung's life makes a good story in itself, but under Lachman's pen it fills up with sign-posts for the seeker and psychic traveller. The book might open up further possibilities for psychic exploration, providing greater confidence and inspiration for the explorer.
Here is described the experience that lies behind creative visualization, channeled writing, mandala-work, theories of individuation, and much more. I found a nice resonance in Lachman's storytelling with my own experience and practice of these Jungian ideas, and it's a treat to have it linked directly to Jung's own personal explorations.
One might value this book chiefly for its confirmation of the value that Jungian spiritual practices hold. Jung's life makes a good story in itself, but under Lachman's pen it fills up with sign-posts for the seeker and psychic traveller. The book might open up further possibilities for psychic exploration, providing greater confidence and inspiration for the explorer.
January 18, 2012
Lachman's book is an easy read and much of the material is well known, especially by those who have read Jung's "autobiography Memories, Dreams and Reflections . Lachman provides a balanced approach to some of the more controversial aspects to Jung, namely that he was attempting to set himself up as a messiah figure for a Jung cult (not true) and that he was anti-Semitic (also not true). It might have been better if Lachman had gone into even more detail in several instances, especially regarding whether or not Jung was a mystic. Lachman essentially provides a definition of a mystic and claims that Jung fits the bill. For a book tittled Jung The Mystic this argument by definition seemed woefully inadequate. A more nuanced discussion regarding mysticism and religious experience in Jung's thought and personal experience would have added much to the text. He also makes comparisions with other mystics, namely Gurdjieff, Swedenborg and Steiner, without going to much into what makes them mystics. The analogies could have been stronger. Otherwise, this was a fun, if brief read.
July 3, 2019
This book was a light and easy read, although I have to confess to a certain degree of disappointment. Much like some other recently reviewed books on Jung (notably, "Four Archetypes: Mother, Rebirth, Spirit and Trickster"), this text seems to pander to those who are "new agey" and self-professed spiritualist types, rather than those who engage in a serious mystical practice, or who wish to really understand the enormous depth of the esoteric dimension of Carl Jung's writing.
Interesting and cursory bits, including Jung's relationship with Sigmund Freud, how Jung's life experiences influenced the development of his theories, and the interesting role he played in the Second World War, made this worth four stars to me, despite my disappointment in the book's failure to live up to my expectations of its subtitle.
Interesting and cursory bits, including Jung's relationship with Sigmund Freud, how Jung's life experiences influenced the development of his theories, and the interesting role he played in the Second World War, made this worth four stars to me, despite my disappointment in the book's failure to live up to my expectations of its subtitle.
February 21, 2021
When I finished this book and recorded my completion on my Goodreads account, I was immediately asked to rate it on their 1-5 star system. I don't give lower than a 3 (I'd likely won't bother to start let alone complete a book that I didn't find at least solid, worthwhile), and this book is clearly beyond that baseline. So a 4 or a 5? Normally, I award a 5 if a book is a game-changer, one that significantly alters or expands my perceptions or beliefs about a topic. This requires a book to be both well-written and in some way unique. A 4 then is something less than a game-changer, but still rates as a high-compliment. (N.B.: I rate fiction on somewhat different criteria, and I less often review works of fiction.) I should note that I'd previously read Lachman's biographies of Emmanuel Swedenborg and Rudolf Steiner, and I gave them both a 4-star rating. How did the Jung book rate more highly? Let me explain.
First of all, let's look at the full title and subtitle: Jung the Mystic: The Esoteric Dimensions of Carl Jung's Life and Teachings--A New Biography. Thus, when I opened and began this book, I knew, in a broad sense, what I was going to get. My reading record on Goodreads currently shows I've completed 14 of Lachman's books along with one in progress, several on deck, and numerous shorter pieces. I wouldn't keep coming back to his works if they weren't rewarding. In fact, on topics and persons related to the esoteric, occult, spirituality, subterranean philosophy, consciousness, and so on, I've found Lachman a thorough, reliable, and well-grounded reporter. This book doesn't vary from Lachman's modus operandi that I just described. I came to this book with a wide but somewhat shallow and incomplete knowledge of Jung. I realized as I read this book, that I'd read very little written by Jung himself (more about this in a bit), although I'd read a fair amount by "Jungians." Also, I'd never read a biography of Jung. Lachman's account provides a thorough account of Jung's life above and beyond its aspects that are related to the esoteric or occult, although the publisher wants us to know that the "bonus" of this particular biography is its willingness to delve into the "non-scientific" aspect of Jung's life and body of work that Jung was quite hesitant to share. Jung wanted, like Freud, to be thought of as a "scientist" and his work thought of as "science," so pioneers of psychoanalysis emphasized the aspects of their work that they hoped would receive scientific acceptance. But as Lachman points out about Jung, without Jung's openness and experience with the "paranormal" (my term, not Lachman's), Jung's thought would not have been the Jung we know. In this regard, Lachman's book provides a real service. In addition, because of his deep knowledge of the field, he can draw interesting parallels and comparisons between Jung and contemporaries like William James, Rudolf Steiner, and Gurdjieff, among others.
Lachman also is fair and balanced (really!) in his treatment of Jung's strengths and foibles. Lachman does his homework both in Jung's writings and those writing in his tradition or about him. Lachman points out that Jung's prose can be, at least at times, prove quite dense and taxing, what Lachman describes as Jung's "Herr Doctor Professor" mode. Also, Jung had affairs with patients and he could at times be a real horse's ass toward those around him. He, like Freud, could become rigid with followers and dogmatic about his practices. That any of us--but especially persons of genuine genius--often fail in human relationships is no newsflash and doesn't undermine (necessarily) their body of work. The thoughts and the person are (at least in some measure) separate. And as Jung was, in some measure, an artist--a producer of beautiful thoughts and images--we know that there's always a measure of dissonance between the beauty and perfection of the art and the uglier realities of the artist (as it is with all of us). Lachman deals with both the beauty and value of Jung's work and his personal strengths and foibles with an admirable even hand (as I've come to expect of him). Lachman also dispenses with claims that Jung was a Nazi sympathizer after thoroughly reviewing the evidence of such claims. (Jung, but the way, was a Swiss national.) In fact, in turns out that Jung cooperated with Wild Bill Donovan and OSS (precursor to the CIA) during the war.
At the end of this work, Lachman provides some brief but quite useful comments upon those who've continued the line of thinking initiated by Jung, including many of the women ("Valkyries," as someone dubbed them) who worked directly with Jung, as well as later and more independent figures such as James Hillman and Anthony Storr. And last but not least, Lachman explores Jung's Red Book, a journal that Jung kept around 1915 to 1930 but which wasn't published until 2009. This work didn't prove to be the Holy Grail of Jungian studies, but, according to Lachman's account, it did shed new light on Jung's project and obviously provides a valuable contribution to understanding the man and his project.
Now back to this Goodread's rating. If I could award a finer grained rating, I'd go with a 4.5, somewhat around the B+/A- designation. But, like my alma mater, a "B+" on the comments or on professor's posted sheets was still just a "B" on the official transcript, and an "A-" was still an "A" on the transcript. The grader has to choose. What tipped me to an "A" for this book? In the end, I gave it the small boost it required because Lachman is such a consistent student (and teacher) in his writings, a "career achievement" bonus if you will. When I begin and complete my next Lachman book, I have little doubt that I'll find the occasion both an enlightening and enjoyable read, and that's merits an "A" rating for an author in my book.
First of all, let's look at the full title and subtitle: Jung the Mystic: The Esoteric Dimensions of Carl Jung's Life and Teachings--A New Biography. Thus, when I opened and began this book, I knew, in a broad sense, what I was going to get. My reading record on Goodreads currently shows I've completed 14 of Lachman's books along with one in progress, several on deck, and numerous shorter pieces. I wouldn't keep coming back to his works if they weren't rewarding. In fact, on topics and persons related to the esoteric, occult, spirituality, subterranean philosophy, consciousness, and so on, I've found Lachman a thorough, reliable, and well-grounded reporter. This book doesn't vary from Lachman's modus operandi that I just described. I came to this book with a wide but somewhat shallow and incomplete knowledge of Jung. I realized as I read this book, that I'd read very little written by Jung himself (more about this in a bit), although I'd read a fair amount by "Jungians." Also, I'd never read a biography of Jung. Lachman's account provides a thorough account of Jung's life above and beyond its aspects that are related to the esoteric or occult, although the publisher wants us to know that the "bonus" of this particular biography is its willingness to delve into the "non-scientific" aspect of Jung's life and body of work that Jung was quite hesitant to share. Jung wanted, like Freud, to be thought of as a "scientist" and his work thought of as "science," so pioneers of psychoanalysis emphasized the aspects of their work that they hoped would receive scientific acceptance. But as Lachman points out about Jung, without Jung's openness and experience with the "paranormal" (my term, not Lachman's), Jung's thought would not have been the Jung we know. In this regard, Lachman's book provides a real service. In addition, because of his deep knowledge of the field, he can draw interesting parallels and comparisons between Jung and contemporaries like William James, Rudolf Steiner, and Gurdjieff, among others.
Lachman also is fair and balanced (really!) in his treatment of Jung's strengths and foibles. Lachman does his homework both in Jung's writings and those writing in his tradition or about him. Lachman points out that Jung's prose can be, at least at times, prove quite dense and taxing, what Lachman describes as Jung's "Herr Doctor Professor" mode. Also, Jung had affairs with patients and he could at times be a real horse's ass toward those around him. He, like Freud, could become rigid with followers and dogmatic about his practices. That any of us--but especially persons of genuine genius--often fail in human relationships is no newsflash and doesn't undermine (necessarily) their body of work. The thoughts and the person are (at least in some measure) separate. And as Jung was, in some measure, an artist--a producer of beautiful thoughts and images--we know that there's always a measure of dissonance between the beauty and perfection of the art and the uglier realities of the artist (as it is with all of us). Lachman deals with both the beauty and value of Jung's work and his personal strengths and foibles with an admirable even hand (as I've come to expect of him). Lachman also dispenses with claims that Jung was a Nazi sympathizer after thoroughly reviewing the evidence of such claims. (Jung, but the way, was a Swiss national.) In fact, in turns out that Jung cooperated with Wild Bill Donovan and OSS (precursor to the CIA) during the war.
At the end of this work, Lachman provides some brief but quite useful comments upon those who've continued the line of thinking initiated by Jung, including many of the women ("Valkyries," as someone dubbed them) who worked directly with Jung, as well as later and more independent figures such as James Hillman and Anthony Storr. And last but not least, Lachman explores Jung's Red Book, a journal that Jung kept around 1915 to 1930 but which wasn't published until 2009. This work didn't prove to be the Holy Grail of Jungian studies, but, according to Lachman's account, it did shed new light on Jung's project and obviously provides a valuable contribution to understanding the man and his project.
Now back to this Goodread's rating. If I could award a finer grained rating, I'd go with a 4.5, somewhat around the B+/A- designation. But, like my alma mater, a "B+" on the comments or on professor's posted sheets was still just a "B" on the official transcript, and an "A-" was still an "A" on the transcript. The grader has to choose. What tipped me to an "A" for this book? In the end, I gave it the small boost it required because Lachman is such a consistent student (and teacher) in his writings, a "career achievement" bonus if you will. When I begin and complete my next Lachman book, I have little doubt that I'll find the occasion both an enlightening and enjoyable read, and that's merits an "A" rating for an author in my book.
February 8, 2018
An interesting look into Jung's life! I hoped for more in-depth occult and mystical content.
October 29, 2024
A pretty good overview of Jung's work and it's connections to various supernatural or unexplained events in his life, or his researches into alchemy or Eastern mystical thought (which according to the book he frequently tended to subsume or bend into his own notions). Lachman does a good job showing that while Jung was a scientist, you don't get the full depth of his ideas if you attempt to sanitize his ideas from the larger 'mystical' underpinnings of his work.
My only real complaint is that, while the book is an easy read and does a good job explaining Jungian concepts, it's frequently unclear when certain event's are happening in relation to each other. If you don't have a decent understanding of Jung's biography, like I did going in, there are several points in the book that seem to be taking place later in Jung's life only for the next page to reveal this is all happening at the same time as events that happened earlier in a previous chapter but weren't mentioned.
I chalk this up to the books structure, the chapters are all dedicated to one of Jung's concepts in the order they developed and were published, which means there's very frequently overlap in his personal life as idea's tend to develop concurrently rather than sequentially. It makes sense as the book is dedicated to examining the mystic underpinnings of Jung's thought, however like I said, the events can get a bit muddied and I did spend some time every chapter having to double check when things were happening.
An interesting read, and I think a good pick if anyone's interested in Jung's writing, though maybe not as the first book someone grabs on the subject, though it does have a lot of good recommendations for associated readings. Lachman is obviously well versed in the subject, but I think the scope of the book limit's it somewhat.
My only real complaint is that, while the book is an easy read and does a good job explaining Jungian concepts, it's frequently unclear when certain event's are happening in relation to each other. If you don't have a decent understanding of Jung's biography, like I did going in, there are several points in the book that seem to be taking place later in Jung's life only for the next page to reveal this is all happening at the same time as events that happened earlier in a previous chapter but weren't mentioned.
I chalk this up to the books structure, the chapters are all dedicated to one of Jung's concepts in the order they developed and were published, which means there's very frequently overlap in his personal life as idea's tend to develop concurrently rather than sequentially. It makes sense as the book is dedicated to examining the mystic underpinnings of Jung's thought, however like I said, the events can get a bit muddied and I did spend some time every chapter having to double check when things were happening.
An interesting read, and I think a good pick if anyone's interested in Jung's writing, though maybe not as the first book someone grabs on the subject, though it does have a lot of good recommendations for associated readings. Lachman is obviously well versed in the subject, but I think the scope of the book limit's it somewhat.
July 30, 2024
I’m usually not a fan of biographies. Even for those that interest me most, the details of their place of birth, childhood, schooling, etc bore me to tears. Once we got past the preliminaries, this was a fairly interesting read. It touches on enough of Jung’s output to help me define which of his books i’d actually be interested in reading. It supposes that much of his work nearly impenetrable due to a conflict he had between his artistic and spiritual side with his desires to be taken seriously as a scientist. Leading him to overstuff his books with scientific and historic references to the point of overshadowing what it was he was driving at in the first place. I picked up Man & His Symbols once at a book store and put it back down after a quick skim, realizing what I’d be in for.
There are lots of interesting Jungian contributions to psychology and spirituality outlined roughly in here, framed in ways that help you decide where you may want to do some further reading. The most interesting part for me was how not chill Jung was though. For all of his breakthroughs about consciousness and living right, he was a bit of an egomaniac, a womanizer and an asshole.
The part where it explains that the three times his wife threatened divorce over his affairs, that he became so ill she couldn’t leave his side, reminded me of online skits about confronting the most toxic bf you’ve ever had about their cheating. The actor playing the toxic bf proceeds to throw a tantrum, crawl on the floor, cry in the shower with their clothes on etc. Just like Carl Jung.
There are lots of interesting Jungian contributions to psychology and spirituality outlined roughly in here, framed in ways that help you decide where you may want to do some further reading. The most interesting part for me was how not chill Jung was though. For all of his breakthroughs about consciousness and living right, he was a bit of an egomaniac, a womanizer and an asshole.
The part where it explains that the three times his wife threatened divorce over his affairs, that he became so ill she couldn’t leave his side, reminded me of online skits about confronting the most toxic bf you’ve ever had about their cheating. The actor playing the toxic bf proceeds to throw a tantrum, crawl on the floor, cry in the shower with their clothes on etc. Just like Carl Jung.
January 2, 2021
In addition to Jung's scientific career as psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, the mysticism and the esoteric dimensions of Jung's life and teachings, are quite interesting to read. For someone who likes the combination of science and mysticism, this is an intriguing autobiography of Carl Jung. His eventful childhood years, his relationship with Freud and Freudian psychoanalysis, his surprising personality, his paranormal experiences and spirituality shaped him as an individual and helped him discover new ways of understanding and perspective which helped people overcome their mental challenges. Jung was surely a VERY COMPLEX man, who added new concepts and followed his own beliefs of the collective unconscious and archetypes, which allowed him individualize himself. I recommend diving into Jungian mind. It is quite fascinating.
August 5, 2023
Ao mergulhar nas páginas de "Jung, o Místico", ansiava por desvendar a intrigante conexão entre Carl Gustav Jung e a astrologia, esperando uma exploração profunda das influências astrológicas em sua abordagem psicológica e espiritual. No entanto, embora a obra ofereça um olhar envolvente sobre a jornada mística de Jung e suas conexões com diversas tradições espirituais, a esperada exploração da ligação específica com a astrologia ficou aquém das minhas expectativas. Encontrei em outras fontes que ele manteve contato com diversos astrólogos durante a sua vida incluindo BV Raman, como pode se ver na carta aqui (https://oastrologovedico.com/jung-e-a...) O livro oferece valiosos insights sobre a complexidade do pensamento junguiano, mas deixa uma curiosidade não plenamente saciada em relação a essa relação com a astrologia.
January 1, 2021
I love the way Gary Lachman lays out his research. This is the second book Íve read by him, concerning esotericism and the occult. It just makes me want to read his whole back catalog.
Jung is an ever so interesting character, and this book explained depths of his character that I wasńt aware of before. Especially his strange relationship with Freud, with them often butting heads. Or the fact that he was indeed so close to committing Hitler as unfit for duties during the Second World War.
Incredible book, very much recommend to those interested in the subject.
Jung is an ever so interesting character, and this book explained depths of his character that I wasńt aware of before. Especially his strange relationship with Freud, with them often butting heads. Or the fact that he was indeed so close to committing Hitler as unfit for duties during the Second World War.
Incredible book, very much recommend to those interested in the subject.
March 23, 2022
Absolutely fascinating book of research for anyone interested in the connections between psychology and mysticism. It's easy to understand why Jung didn't go full mystic, but I do appreciate that his body of work included so much about his spiritual journey. This book was really helpful for me since I work in an area that isnt black & white, but grey with shades of magic. The future is more open to spirit work. So glad I have added this to my library.
November 23, 2024
Not a huge fan of how often Lachman includes his own thoughts as an authoritative voice. Also, he includes irrelevant details about others he’s written about. Great information in the book, which is why I gave it four stars, but not a fan of Lachman’s writing style at some points. Found the same problem in his Swedenborg book.
January 9, 2023
Curb your enthusiasm
Fairly standard bio of Jung. Weak focus on Jung’s mysticism (or otherwise) but still a decent read.
If you are considering reading it to see a cogent argument for Jung being a mystic, it is not here, this is largely conjecture.
Fairly standard bio of Jung. Weak focus on Jung’s mysticism (or otherwise) but still a decent read.
If you are considering reading it to see a cogent argument for Jung being a mystic, it is not here, this is largely conjecture.
January 22, 2023
Excellent biography of groundbreaking psychologist Carl Jung, revealing many details of his life that were previously unknown. His role in WW2 plots to depose Hitler is pretty amazing. Fair & balanced bio - no hero worship.
June 8, 2019
I FIND HIS LIFE INTERESTING, wish more of this theories were discussed
September 2, 2019
Overall, a nice way to read a biography on Jung without drinking the koolaid of either faction of the logic vs mysticism debate.
August 5, 2021
Very good for Jungians.
December 16, 2022
Really enjoyed this. Lachman makes Jung more accessible. Looking forward to reading more of his stuff.
April 1, 2025
A good short introduction to Carl Jung with an emphasis on his "mystical" side.
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