Depth Psychology Alliance book club - Cycle of Life

I wish to invite you to the Depth Psychology Alliance book club for the month of February. During this month we will discuss my book The Cycle of Life: Themes and Tales of the Journey, and I invite you to share your thoughts, comments and questions on this theme.

I write these lines from my home in Ra'anana, a small town north of Tel Aviv, at the eastern shores of the Mediterranean. This is the narrowest part of this small country, around 9 miles from the sea to Israel’s border with the Palestinian National Authority in the east (the local bus will take you cross-country).

This place in which I live, seems to eternally waver back and forth between profound creation and relentless destruction. Here, history fuses with mythology, and the heart of three monotheistic religions beats from within an area of a third of a square mile; a heartbeat that sends hurricanes of the spirit and floods of blood, across the face of the earth. From this same harsh earth arose, as well, some of humankind’s most powerful beliefs and influential individuals.

Hope and despair are common visitors in the souls of the peoples that dwell here, coloring their passions in dark red and their spirits in deep blue. You will find the terrors of war alternating at your doorstep with the dreams of reconciliation, reminding you how small we humans are, particularly when we have power and guns in our hands (on all sides). We are constantly reminded of the responsibility that rests on the shoulders of Psyche in each and every one. As Jung said, man’s psyche is the origin of all coming evil.

I have shared my thoughts about these issues in other books.* However, one further characteristic brings us to the cycle of life: the seasons. Here, at the eastern Mediterranean (which means “the sea in the middle of the earth”), the seasons don’t flow gently into each other. The seasons that soften the transition between summer and winter are very brief, sometimes barely noticeable. Likewise, the transitions along life’s journey, from the fires of adolescence to the gray ground of adulthood, for instance, may be sharp and painful. In some, this may evoke resistance and the desire to stay forever young, as in the puer aeternus or the puella aeterna, the eternal youth, who refuses to grow up. Others may prematurely, and sometimes unprepared, have to take on the burden of adult responsibilities, experiencing how the fire and the spirit of youth are extinguished.

My book focuses less on actual development through life’s stages, but rather on the archetypal core of the respective stages, or ages of life, from the perspective of their archetypal meaning. Consequently, the emphasis is not on the child’s development through the stages of childhood, but rather on the child as carrying the image of living in “the mysterious world of mythical images and magical relatedness,” as Gerhard Adler says.

If you are interested, please join the book club and read more

You can also listen to or watch an interview that Bonnie Bright conducted with me.

Furthermore, there will be two drawings, one on February 14th for The Hero and His Shadow, and one on the 28th for Enemy, Cripple & Beggar. The winner of the book will be announced the following day.
Looking forward to sharing thoughts and perspectives along the journey,

Erel Shalit

*Please see The Hero and His Shadow (the most recent, revised edition of this book was published this January by Fisher King Press); and Requiem: A Tale of Exile and Return (if you sign up for my newsletter, you will receive a free pdf eBook edition of the novella, but those of you who, like me, prefer the ‘real’ thing, can purchase directly from the publisher Fisher King Press, or Amazon).

Free eBook

Spring by Benjamin Shiff, whose wonderful painting Life appears on the cover of The Cycle of Life. See more of his paintings here, and at Benjamin Shiff Studio.

1. Receive a free pdf ebook edition of Requiem when you update your profile or register for my free newsletter. 

2. Depth Psychology Alliance Book Club for February – Cycle of Life During the month of February, I have the privilege of discussing my newest book The Cycle of Life – Themes and Tales of the Journey at the DPA Book Club. read more...

3. Bonnie Bright interviews Erel Shalit  Listen to or watch an interview on the theme of the cycle of life.

4. New edition of The Hero and His Shadow, now available in a variety of eBook editions as well  as a new printed version with a substantially lower price, thanks to Fisher King Press.

The Armchair Hero's Companion

From Enemy, Cripple, Beggar

Were the hero to believe he already knows all there is to know, and if he would insist on standing on the firm ground of principles and conventions, he would seldom bother to respond to the call to adventure.(Joseph Campbell, 'The Hero with a Thousand Faces', p. 49ff.) Our hero would remain at home, seated like Archie Bunker in the confined and drowsy embrace of the armchair-ego. He would stay away from the unknown, unaware of moonlit nights, and intolerant of the shadow-carrying 'Other'. “The usual person is more than content, he is even proud, to remain within the indicated bounds…,” says Campbell.(ibid.) “The hero,” says Jung beautifully, “is the symbolical exponent of the movement of libido.”(The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche, CW 8, par. 68.)

Erel Shalit titles are on Sale now at Fisher King Press.

Depth Psychology Online Book Club: The Cycle of Life

I am pleased to let you know I will be tending the free Depth Psychology Alliance online book club with my book The Cycle of Life: Themes and Tales of the Journey in the month of February.

Each month, the group is "tended" by a different author who takes charge of the group on the first day of the designated month to introduce the book, assign selected readings, and pose study questions, so I will be on call to monitor progress, field questions online, point out themes, comment on select passages, draw out correlations with current events, and will be open for questions, comments and discussions.

I will also be featured in an audio interview for Depth Insights Radio a couple of weeks before the beginning of my session (in February), giving you ample time to get the book and read along.

The new Book Club started on January 1, with author Sandy Nathan, followed by me in February.
Here’s a link for an overview and the entire line-up of Depth Psychology Authors for 2012, which also features a link to a page for my month (February).

Hope you will check it out!

Erel Shalit

Ps. There will be a drawing for a free copy of my book Enemy, Cripple & Beggar: Shadows in the Hero’s Path and one of The Hero and His Shadow: Psychopolitical Aspects of Myth and Reality in Israel, among the attendees during the month of February.

January 1, 2012: The Hero and His Shadow, Revised Edition

Nicholas Poussin, A Dance to the Music of Time, 1639

As we enter Janus’s gate of transition from the departing year to the year that opens up in front of us, we may take the time to reflect on the dramatic events that have taken place during this past year, and wonder what lies ahead.

Hope and possibilities alternate with anguish and despair, as a year of protesters’ spring and danger of nuclear winter comes to an end. Sophia, the Wisdom born out of the secrets of the Night and the reflection in Depth, seemed to have abandoned the streets and the places of concourse (Prov. 1:20-32). Then, in an era in which all seemed to dwell in the self-imposed solitary confinement of virtual reality, life in vitro behind the screen, the young take to the streets and gather in the squares. Attempting to break the bonds of oppressive regimes and cold-hearted mammonism, they have raised their voice across the globe, demanding freedom, solidarity and justice. Will these voices persevere to withstand the strong, silencing forces of darkness, of ruthlessness and oppression? Will the Voice of Wisdom be listened to, so that we may “dwell safely, without fear of evil” (Prov. 1:33)?
From The Hero and His Shadow, p. 32.

January 1, 2012: The Hero and His Shadow: Psychopolitical Aspects of Myth and Reality in Israel Revised Edition (available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Fisher King Press), paperback and eBook (kindle, nook, iPad, etc).

The Hero and His Shadow: Psychopolitical Aspects of Myth and Reality in Israel introduces a psychological perspective on the history, development, and myths of modern Israel.

The realization of Zionism relied on the pioneer, who revolted against the Way of the Father and sought spiritual redemption through the revival of Mother Earth in the ancient land. Myth and history, psyche and matter are constantly intertwined in the birth and development of Israel, for example when in the Declaration of Independence we are told that pioneers make deserts bloom, the text actually says they make spirits blossom.

Pioneer, guardsman and then warrior were admired hero-ideals. However, in the shadow of the hero and the guiding myths of revolt, redemption, strength and identity-change, are feelings of despair, doubt, weakness and fear. Within renewal, lurks the threat of annihilation.

Suppressed aspects of past and present myths, which linger in the shadow, are exposed. Psychological consequences of Israel’s wars, from independence to the present war of terror, are explored on a personal note and from a psychoanalytic perspective. Shadow aspects of the conflicting guiding myths Peace and Greater Israel are examined, as well as mythical connections, such as between Jerusalem and the respective archetypal images of Wholeness and Satan.

Erel Shalit, author and Jungian psychoanalyst, is the Academic Director of the Jungian Analytical Psychotherapy Program at Bar Ilan University. He is a member of the Council for Peace and Security. He has been Director of the Community Mental Health Clinic, Shalvata Psychiatric Center, and served as officer in the Medical Corps of the Israel Defense Forces.

In addition to The Hero and His Shadow: Psychopolitical Aspects of Myth and Reality in Israel, Dr. Shalit is the author of several books, including: The Cycle of Life: Themes and Tales of the Journey, Enemy, Cripple, Beggar: Shadows in the Hero’s Path, The Complex: Path of Transformation from Archetype to Ego, and Requiem: A Tale of Exile and Return.

Product Details
Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Fisher King Press; Revised edition (January 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-1926715698

The Definitive Journey

From Enemy, Cripple, Beggar

The hero who searches for new paths in his heart and soul often lets hints and hunches guide him forward. Yet, he also needs to be equipped with courage to search beyond the boundaries of common ground and with humbleness towards the unknown that lies ahead of him. He must also carry a bagful of questions and concerns, curiosity and conflict, doubt and fear; “Every man hath the right to doubt his task, and to forsake it from time to time; but what he must not do is forget it.” Paulo Coelho, The Fifth Mountain, p. 53.

Erel Shalit titles are on Sale now at Fisher King Press.

Required Reading for all Travelers on Life's Journey

Review by Dr. Arieh Friedler of

The Cycle of Life: Themes and Tales of the Journey

(Amazon, Dec. 12, 2011)

Required Reading for all Traveler's on Life's Journey

From the Bible to Shakespeare, to Carl Jung and to Erik Erikson, Erel Shalit's book, THE CYCLE OF LIFE poetically and informatively presents "the themes and tales of the journey". Shalit cites Jung who assured us that the journey entails BOTH the road we take and HOW we take that road, our conscious attitude. Likewise, as one sets out on the book's journey, s/he is aware of Shalit's profound understanding of the cycle of life. His expertise in Jungian psychology coupled with his vast personal experience in treating clients is apparent on nearly every page. It is HOW he presents the journey that makes this book both very enjoyable and very readable. Just as one feels that perhaps s/he is getting a bit lost in the psychological description of one of the stages in the life cycle, Shalit presents the reader with a poignant example from literature, Greek mythology, Eastern Philosophy, or from Jewish philosophy which illustrates and clarifies the issue for the layman.
As one of these laymen who is on the threshold of the last stage in the journey, I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone who wants to understand his or her own life as an individual or as part of the universe. The book should be required reading for all those starting out on "the journey", for those who deal with people who are somewhere on the path, and for those of us who are at the last station but who still have the strength and the curiosity to understand how s/he has arrived at this point. All in all THE CYCLE OF LIFE is an outstanding publication by a brilliant writer.

Dr. Arieh Friedler
Israel Adult Education Association

In old age, we often search our way back, recalling childhood memories, reconnecting with family background, a religion or a country left behind. We tend to return to where we came from. While the tasks of youth and young adulthood require breaking away from one’s roots, and to establish a separate and individual identity, now comes the time of return - though sometimes the road Home, "to whence I come, was a much longer and more painful road than the departure…" An interest in one’s family genealogy is a common expression of this. We return to our ancestors in order to heal our neurosis. As Jung says, if “man was still linked by myth with the world of the ancestors, and thus with nature truly experienced and not merely seen from the outside, [the neurotics] would have been spared this division with themselves.” Our deceased parents have become part of a lost world, which we explore in order to find our ancestral roots and the often lost voices of wisdom from the past. (From The Cycle of Life, p. 174)