Customer Reviews

The Eden Project: In Search of the Magical Other (Studies in Jungian Psychology By Jungian Analysis, 79)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book helps to understand what goes on in the human condition and that magical state called "in love" when we experience the beloved. It is a wonderful exposition of the jungian phychological view of our deepest emotions; how they occur, what is their nature, how they lead us into pain, and the path of self discovery. The myth that a "magical other" will give us comfort from this world, love us eternally, satisfy our deepest yearnings is dissected and forcefully exposed. In it's place Hollis gives us the freedom of self sustenance, the discovery of solitude and hope for conscious mature relationships that are based on companionship, trust, vulnerability, understanding and our sexuality.

I have read this book a number of times and glean new wisdom every time. It explained every mystery of human relationship that has baffled me for 50 years. The insight I gained helps me understand other people as well as myself in both personal and professional relationships. Hollis can synthesize Jung better than any author or teacher working today, and uses literature and poetry which greatly enriches his writing. All of James Hollis books are exemplarary and I recommend them all. I have been fortunate enough to hear Hollis speak and he is even better in real life. Extremely wise and empathetic. I have also given this book as a gift to many of my friends and colleagues.

I find the previous review very interesting and reveals more to me about the author of the review than this book!!

I can't say enough good things about this book. At 29 years old and fairly new to the dating scene, I didn't realize how much the history of my life was projected onto the person I'm dating. This book helped me to step back and see how I approach relationships. I now at least know what I need to work on and what I should expect from myself and others. It helped me to understand myself. The book is written in a gender-neutral manner. It's common sense (now that I've read the book) applies to both sexes, regardless of sexual orientation. I've even recommended it to married friends that are perfectly happy. Thank you!

How many of us have been convinced that if we could only find The Right One, The Magical Other, our lives would be complete, and we'd have guaranteed happiness for the rest of our lives? Stated so baldly, that sounds sadly impossible ... but we've all bought into it, especially in the first half of life. And we've all suffered the pain of finding out it doesn't quite work that way.

As in all his fine books, James Hollis examines the roots of our needs & desires, and opens our eyes to the buried reasons we so desperately want to believe in The Magical Other. He isn't dismissing or disparaging love, but he is asking us to look more closely at what it really is, and what it really isn't. This is absolutely necessary once we pass through the first glorious rush of lust & infatuation, and everyday life sets in. True love, a lasting & mutually nourishing relationship, requires far more than the beautiful but ephemeral illusions mass-marketed by our culture & fed to us from an early age. It requires both work & a willingness to look at ourselves honestly, something that's much harder than we might think. But the effort is certainly worth it!

Most highly recommended!

Thank you, James Hollis, for a book filled with deep insight, humor and compassion. This book is the antidote for the Dr. Phils of the world. It does not offer a single glib panacea for the troubles we all face with our relationships- especially the relationship we have with our own psyches.

The Eden Project deals primarily with romantic relationships; how they begin, the power they hold over us, the work that must be done to create and maintain a balance between self and other. It is deep without being pedantic or opaque. Hollis' writing is concise and very readable. His model is the work of Carl Jung; the outlook and style is contemporary and practical. Where Jung can be difficult to decipher Hollis' meaning is always clear.

The best compliment I can offer is that, after reading and studying The Eden Project, I went out and purchased multiple copies for friends and family. That is not something I've ever done before.

As an archetypal astrologer, I love how Jim has rejected the seductive impulse to encapsulate the mystery of love and relationship by reason, and instead has inspired us to regain a personal relationship to the Mystery itself. He cautions us not to adore the literal images of romantized love but rather to stand in awe of the the Mystery to which it points. Like in depth astrology, we are all still learning to honor the "gods within us." In this book,Jim Hollis, like many Jungians, sees neurosis like an offended god, and offers us wise insights about how to heal that relationship to our "beloved." ~ Elizabeth Spring

I ever read.
It explains the Jungian premise by which we project ourselves onto others on a subconscious level, never knowing how little of what seems real is truly real, applied to the realm of romantic love, the search for the Magical Other who will complete us.
Paraphrased in a poem by Persian poet Rumi is the main learning of the book:
"The moment I heard my first love story,
I started looking for you..
..not knowing how blind I was.
Lovers don't finally meet somewhere.
They're in each other all along."
This book can help you understand YOU, it can help you learn and grow. Cause "what we do not know can and does hurt us, and others too".
Cause you have to be ONE WHOLE before you can have a true relationship with another.
An eye-opener.

James Hollis has always reminded me of Dr Marcus Welby MD - his bedside manner is cool yet compassionate and he doesn't pull any punches!!

This book takes a startling frank look at why we fail so often in finding "love," in finding our 'soulmate."

Hollis doesn't sugar coat it - but if you can wrap your mind around the truth of his Jungian point of view....then maybe, just maybe, love *is* possible.

His books are slim but dense reads. Mine our highlighted from start to finish. I believe him to be the top male Jungian writer living today. Truly a font of wisdom.

Reading this book CHANGED MY LIFE. It opened the path for me to find a partnership of the depth and soul I had longed for. The work was mine to do - it involved changing my entire thinking about love but the results were worth it.

I have bought multiple copies of this book - so that when a friend comes to me, devastated once again from the failure of a relationship or even marriage - I hand them a copy of The Eden Project and tell them if they are willing to do things differently - this book will help them find the path.

This book discusses in a bit greater depth the well-known concept that infatuation is an unrealistic illusion. While this general idea has been popularized by many (including M. Scott Peck in The Road Less Traveled), it's an illusion we are all so vulnerable to, that it's good to be reminded of this irrational dynamic.

The author shows good intelligence, even wisdom, and a reasonably good facility for writing, with an occasional poetic or lyrical flair.

I've given this 4 stars because I think it's intelligent reading and can stimulate us to be more aware of the unconscious forces that drive us in the arena of romantic love.

I do, however, have a few misgivings about the book.
First, the author seems to feel the need to include a sprinkling of words the average reader will not understand. A few examples: "cynosure," "limns," and "oeuvere." This use of either a highly specialized nomenclature or an unnecessary reaching for unusual--and for most people, opaque--terms is a bit annoying. And I restrain myself from analyzing the author's motivations...

Second, the author takes a political jab at those whose religious or political beliefs he disagrees with. He repeats the unoriginal comment that the Moral Majority is neither moral nor a majority, etc...
I happen not to be religious, and I disagree with many of the policies the Moral Majority would support. But I think it's beneath the dignity of the author, and of serious psychological discourse, to include such a subjective, and emotion-based, attack, when the psychological theory the author discusses not only doesn't require this for illustration, but can be easily presented as consistent with any number of religious or socio-political views, including those of the Moral Majority.

Third, although I know that this is part of a series on Jungian studies, I found it a little tiresome for Jung to be quoted or alluded to in many cases where it seemed unnecessary. It almost reminds one of bad theology, wherein every decent idea needs to be shoe-horned back into a vague Bible passage.

Having said all that, I urge you to buy the book and read it. We need all the help we can get in waking up to our unhelpful unsconscious energies. This book can help on that front, and can stimulate personal growth.

I just wanted to say that this is an amazing book. I believe that it helped my marriage that was struggling and has helped me be a better person. It is easy to understand and thought provoking.