Denise Grobbelaar:

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Jungian Analyst, Psychotherapist & Clinical Psychologist.

Category: Category

Holding the tension of opposites

Author: Denise Grobbelaar

Date Published: 2024-11-19 19:22:06

The concept of holding the tension of opposites is central to the Jungian journey of individuation. Our psyches are pulled between opposing forces, such as the conscious and the unconscious, light and shadow, masculine and feminine, or rationality and intuition. These opposites are archetypal in nature and cannot be fully integrated or reduced into one; they represent fundamental dualities.

Categories: Individuation (Hero & Heroine's Journey)

The mytho-poetic from a Jungian perspective.

Author: Denise Grobbelaar

Date Published: 2024-10-01 18:06:23

From a Jungian perspective, engaging with myths, poetry, stories, music, and movement provides a profound means of accessing the deeper archetypal truths embedded in the collective unconscious.

Categories: Creativity & Imagination, Mytho-Poetic

Ground the Medicine in Your Body - Snake Medicine

Author: Denise Grobbelaar

Date Published: 2024-09-29 18:18:49

This message came to me during a medicine hike, after spotting a snake—a Puff Adder!—crossing the road. Snake medicine teaches us how to attune to the earth’s vibrations. Unlike humans, who hear through the air, snakes hear primarily through the ground.

Categories: Animal Symbolism, Earth & Nature

Shamanism and Animistic worldviews

Author: Denise Grobbelaar

Date Published: 2024-09-05 18:51:58

Traditional shamanism operates from an animistic worldview, where everything in creation is considered alive and possesses a spirit. People, animals, plants, rocks, rivers, mountains, stars, and even concepts and illnesses are believed to have souls.

Categories: Shamanism

Move inside your own skin – Amphibian medicine

Author: Denise Grobbelaar

Date Published: 2024-08-22 19:33:18

Recently, at the Louvain Burn Festival, a frog found its way into our tent—a ‘Platanna’, also known as the African clawed frog or claw-toed frog. The son of the guest farm’s owner showed us how this frog moved inside its own skin, and I recognized this unique feature as its medicine.

Categories: Animal Symbolism

The Body as Personal Shadow

Author: Denise Grobbelaar

Date Published: 2024-08-06 18:59:23

Instinctual drives and violent affective responses are deeply embedded in the body, representing the personal shadow that threatens psychological stability and requires defense mechanisms.

Categories: Embodiment (Body), Impact Of Childhood Experiences (Core wounds), Shadow

Breath: Powerful tool for emotional regulation

Author: Denise Grobbelaar

Date Published: 2024-07-04 19:18:00

When we’re anxious or feel threatened, we tend to hold our breath. This can become a habit, creating a breath-holding pattern that signals to our body that it’s not safe, which reinforces anxiety.

Categories: Breathwork

Black Sun Bird: Powerful symbol

Author: Denise Grobbelaar

Date Published: 2024-06-27 20:49:25

In some traditions, black-colored birds are revered for their spiritual significance and are seen as powerful symbols of mystery, the unknown, transformation, and connection to the divine.

Categories: Animal Symbolism, Personal Journey

Dreaming Landscapes

Author: Denise Grobbelaar

Date Published: 2024-04-11 19:56:29

Dreams show us the landscapes of our souls. Where do your dreams regularly take place? What is the felt sense of that space? How does it speak to you? According to the African indigenous perspective on dreaming, the landscapes in our dreams denote our DNA and the people we originate from.

Categories: Dreams, Indigenous Worldviews

Moon Slayer: In the grip of an archetype

Author: Denise Grobbelaar

Date Published: 2024-04-04 17:00:48

But what happens when the stories we choose to live by lead us down dark and treacherous paths? The Netflix series “The Last Airbender" offers a compelling example of this question through the character of Admiral Zhao and his unrelenting pursuit of becoming a legend by slaying the Moon Spirit.

Categories: Archetypes, Fairy Tales, Movies, Series & Books, Story & Narrative (Personal mythology)