Chaos and Order in the World of the Psyche: Or Chaos and Order in the Inner and Outer World Book

Chaos can enter our lives in many different ways--through death, divorce or conflict--with friends and family, or at work. Joanne Wieland-Burston, through her work as a Jungian analyst, is no stranger to chaos, and frequently acts as companion, support and guide to those whose lives are in turmoil.Chaos and Order in the World of the Psyche shows that the experience of chaos is generally both negative and frightening, destabilizing the individual and provoking feelings of insecurity. People, therefore, often seek to deny and avoid chaos--but chaos that is blocked off does not disappear. It manifests itself in depression, fear, anxiety and various physical symptoms, often making us incapable of performing the simplest daily tasks. The author describes how she helps people to meet the chaos, to accept and see it as the starting-point for a new order in their lives. This ``organic order'' is better suited to their needs and personality, and provides them with the basis to come through their chaos and to lead fuller, happier and more satisfying lives.Wieland-Burston explores the modern attitude to chaos, showing how we shun and deny it while at the same time overestimating the importance of orderliness. Contemporary western society has no tools to deal with chaos, unlike ``primitive'' cultures, whose myths, tales and rites reveal a deep commitment to developing and transmitting to future generations models of chaos confrontation. Chaos and Order in the World of the Psyche draws upon these ancient cultures and upon modern scientific findings of chaos theory to show how we can regain the wisdom we once possessed and have now lost.Read More