“The great majority of us are required to live a life of constant, systematic duplicity. Your health is bound to be affected if, day after day, you say the opposite of what you feel, if you grovel before what you dislike and rejoice at what brings you nothing but misfortune. Our nervous system isn’t just […] The post Why an Unhealthy Mind creates an Unhealthy Body first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“. . .you must look at who you are and make an effort to know yourself, which is the most difficult knowledge one can imagine. When you know yourself, you will not puff yourself up like the frog who wanted to be the equal of the ox. . .”   Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes […] The post Why Lying to Yourself is Ruining Your Life first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“Since ultimately people heal themselves with or without the tool of psychotherapy, why is it that so few do and so many do not? Since the path of spiritual growth, albeit difficult, is open to all, why do so few choose to travel it? It was to this question that Christ was addressing himself when […] The post How to Escape Mediocrity and Mental Illness – The Road Less Traveled first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“…more people look for salvation through relationship than in houses of worship. One may even suggest that romantic love has replaced institutional religion as the greatest motive power and influence in our lives…the search for love has replaced the search for God.” James Hollis, The Eden Project: In Search of the Magical Other Half of […] The post Why do Most Relationships Fail? – The Myth of the Magical Other first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“Over half a century ago, while I was still a child, I recall hearing a number of older people offer the following explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia [in the 20th century]: ‘Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.’”   Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, 1983 Templeton Address Is secularization a sign […] The post Do we Need God? – The Loss of God and the Decay of Society first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“Evil is not committed by people who feel uncertain about their righteousness, who question their own motives, who worry about betraying themselves. The evil in this world is committed by the spiritual fat cats, by the Pharisees of our own day, the self-righteous who think they are without sin because they are unwilling to suffer […] The post The Psychology of Malignant Narcissists – People of the Lie first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“And the word “courage” should be reserved to characterize the man or woman who leaves the infantile sanctuary of the mass mind.” Sam Keen, Fire in the Belly In the privacy of our minds many of us disagree with the ideologies, political agendas, and government mandates of our day, yet in public we comply. We […] The post Why are People so Obedient? – Compliance and Tyranny first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“I must be myself, I cannot break myself any longer for you. . .If you can love me for what I am, we shall be the happier. If you cannot, I will still seek to deserve that you should.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance The great 19th century American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson believed that to flourish […] The post Why Nonconformity Cures a Sick Self and a Sick Society first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“Fatherlessness is the leading cause of declining child well-being in our society. It is also the engine driving our most urgent social problems…Yet, despite its scale and social consequences, fatherlessness is a problem that is frequently ignored or denied.” David Blankenhorn, Fatherless America Families are microcosms of society. Strong and stable families contribute to social […] The post Why Absent Fathers Harm Children and Ruin Society first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“Human predators populate our society.”   Stefan Verstappen, Defense Against the Psychopath Psychopaths are human predators. They coerce, manipulate, lie, steal, defraud, abuse, and take life, without feeling guilt or remorse. A leading expert on psychopathy, Robert Hare, estimates that 1% of people are psychopaths; while the clinical psychologist Martha Stout suggests this figure is […] The post The Psychology of Psychopaths – Predators who Walk Among Us first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“We also live in our dreams, we do not live only by day. Sometimes we accomplish our greatest deeds in dreams.” Carl Jung, The Red Book Are dreams the product of random brain activity, or a side effect of the mind consolidating its memories? Are they, as Sigmund Freud suggested, the expression of repressed wishes […] The post Carl Jung and the Psychology of Dreams – Messages from the Unconscious first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“Most people can never, even for a moment, disentangle themselves from the restraints imposed by those around them, nor can they disregard their approval. From the moment they begin to understand their parents’ smiles and frowns they have needed the moment to moment approval of everyone, even strangers…These people measure their entire worth by what […] The post How to Stop Being a Slave to the Opinions of Other People first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“Like plants, so men also grow, some in the light, others in the shadows. There are many who need the shadows and not the light.” Carl Jung, The Red Book None of us are as good as we like to think. We possess animalistic drives for sex and power. We have a cruel and aggressive […] The post Face Your Dark Side – Carl Jung and the Shadow first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“…the world would be most happily governed if it consisted not of a few aggregations…with their accompaniments of despotism and tyrannic rule, but of a society of small States.”   Saint Augustine, The Political Aspects of Saint Augustine’s City of God Should the states and provinces of nations separate and become politically autonomous? Should counties, cities, […] The post Can Decentralization Save Humanity? – Why Smaller is Better in Politics first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

Central banks have spent decades flooding the global economy with newly created money. We are told this policy, or what is called a monetary inflation, is needed to stimulate economic growth and to keep unemployment low, but like so many of the justifications that politicians and bureaucrats offer for their actions, this one is a […] The post The Uncensored Truth about Inflation – How Inflation Enriches Politicians and the 1% first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“There are just as many people who become neurotic because they are merely normal, as there are people who are neurotic because they cannot become normal. That it should enter anyone’s head to educate them to normality is a nightmare for the former, because their deepest need is really to be able to lead “abnormal” […] The post Why are so Many People Neurotic? – Carl Jung as Therapist first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“…not increase of consciousness is the goal, but enhancement of power.”   Nietzsche, The Will to Power In the quest to live a good life, each of us, consciously or implicitly, chooses an ultimate value around which to orient our life. For many this value is wealth, for others it may be status, social-acceptance, happiness, […] The post Why You Should Seek Power, Not Happiness – Nietzsche’s Guide to Greatness first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

In 1888, the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote:  “What I relate is the history of the next two centuries. I describe what is coming, what can no longer come differently: the advent of nihilism.”  Nietzsche, The Will to Power Nihilism is the conviction that there is no meaning to life, that the world is inhospitable to […] The post Nietzsche and Nihilism – A Warning to the West first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“Either we have no dreams or our dreams are interesting. We should learn to arrange our waking life the same way: nothing or interesting.” Nietzsche, The Gay Science The chance of living a good life is increased by attaining success in two main areas. Firstly, we need to make money, as poverty is limiting and […] The post How to Quit Your Boring Job – Turn a Passion into a Career first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“…if inflation is not eliminated very soon, all our technological and scientific improvements will not prevent us from a tremendous financial catastrophe that will destroy practically all that civilization has created in the last several hundred years.”   Ludwig von Mises, Ludwig von Mises on Money and Inflation The philosopher George Santayana stated that “Those […] The post How Inflation Precipitates Societal Collapse first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“I see in you all the characteristic stigma of decay. I can prove to you that… your atheism and your pessimism and your cynicism, your immorality, your broken-down marriages…were characteristic marks of the dying ages of ancient States.”  Oswald Spengler, The Decline of the West Are we living in an age of civilizational collapse? In […] The post Will Civilization Collapse? first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“This is precisely the risk modern man runs: he may wake up one day to find that he has missed half his life.”   Carl Jung, Practice of Psychotherapy Psychotropic drugs have become one of the most common forms of treatment for anxiety disorders and depression. But these drugs are not very good at curing […] The post How to Stop Wasting Your Life – Carl Jung as Therapist first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“Humanity is arming itself, in dread and fascinated horror, for a stupendous crime.” Carl Jung, Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious While we cannot create a heaven on earth, we can create a hell and history is full of examples. Many of these man-made hells are the result of war and conquest, but many others are […] The post Scapegoating and the Road to Political Persecution first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“The discipline of suffering, of great suffering – do you not know that only this discipline has created all enhancements of man so far?”   Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil Suffering is inevitable. It is an essential component of the human condition, and the sources of suffering are many. Some have gone as far […] The post Why Suffering can Promote Strength and Health first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“The least of things with a meaning is worth more in life than the greatest of things without it.”   Carl Jung, Practice of Psychotherapy We live in a world consumed by an endless series of crises. But of all the crises we face the one that may be of the greatest concern, is one […] The post Why the Lack of Religion Breeds Mental Illness first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“Attention is not just another cognitive function. Attention is how our world comes into being for us. The altered nature of attention can appear to abolish parts of the world, collapse time and space [and] eviscerate emotion. . .It is a profoundly moral act.”   Iain McGilchrist, The Matter With Things As was explored in […] The post Anxiety and Depression – A Retreat into a Constricted World first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

Is the modern world caught in the grip of a fear psychosis and has a cult of safety entrenched itself the West? In this video, we are going to explore these questions. “Quite an experience, to live in fear, isn’t it? That’s what it is to be a slave.” Blade Runner Today we live longer […] The post Fear Psychosis and the Cult of Safety – Why are People so Afraid? first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“Anxiously we look round for collective measures, thereby reinforcing the very mass-mindedness we want to fight against. There’s only one remedy for the leveling effect of all collective measures, and this is to emphasize and increase the value of the individual.”   Carl Jung, Civilization in Transition We live in an age where two visions […] The post Is Humanity Doomed? – Carl Jung on Healing a Sick Society first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“The real question is whether the ‘brighter future’ is always so distant. What if it has been here for a long time already – and only our own blindness and weakness have prevented us from seeing it around us and within us, and kept us from developing it.” Vaclav Havel, The Power of the Powerless […] The post The Parallel Society vs Totalitarianism | How to Create a Free World first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“Authoritarianism in religion and science, let alone politics, is becoming increasingly accepted, not particularly because so many people explicitly believe in it but because they feel themselves individually powerless and anxious. So what else can one do…except follow the mass political leader…or follow the authority of customs, public opinion, and social expectations?” Rollo May, Man’s […] The post Why are Most People Cowards? | Obedience and the Rise of Authoritarianism first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“The State takes the place of God…the socialist dictatorships are religions and State slavery is a form of worship.” Carl Jung, The Undiscovered Self Since the birth of totalitarianism in the 20th century much has been written about this form of rule and millions have read George Orwell’s depiction of it in the classic novel […] The post Is Government the New God? – The Religion of Totalitarianism first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“I rejoice that horses and steers have to be broken before they can be made the slaves of men, and that men themselves have some wild oats still left to sow before they become submissive members of society.” Henry David Thoreau, Walking If this claim of Henry David Thoreau’s is true – that we must […] The post Is the Mainstream Media a Threat to Freedom and Sanity? first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“What is addiction, really? It is a sign, a signal, a symptom of distress. It is a language that tells us about a plight that must be understood.” Alice Miller, Breaking Down the Wall of Silence In the Buddhist’s conception of the universe, the wheel of life revolves through 6 realms, each representing a different […] The post The Crisis of Addiction – Childhood Trauma and a Corrupt Culture first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

In the book The Origins of Totalitarianism Hannah Arendt describes the rudimentary mass surveillance system used by the secret police force of the Russian Empire. “Every suspect was noted on a large card in the center of which his name was surrounded by a red circle; his political friends were designated by smaller red circles […] The post Smartphones and Social Media: A Mass Surveillance Dystopia first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“WHAT HATH GOD WROUGHT?” These were the first words sent over the newly invented electric telegraph machine in May 1844. This message proved to be prophetic. For the communication technologies that followed in the wake of the telegraph, from the telephone, to the radio, to TV, computers, the internet, and now smart phones and social […] The post Social Media – Why it Sickens the Self and Divides Society first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“And the lie has, in fact, led us so far away from a normal society that you cannot even orient yourself any longer; in its dense, gray fog not even one pillar can be seen.” Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago Lying has always been used for political purposes. Lies cover up corruption, past mistakes and […] The post The Big Lie – How to Enslave the World first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, reflecting on the Soviet Union’s descent into totalitarian rule in the mid-20th century, and all the things that could have been done to prevent it, wrote the following:  “If…if… We didn’t love freedom enough. And even more – we had no awareness of the real situation. . .we hurried to submit. We submitted with pleasure! … We purely and simply deserved everything that […] The post How to Escape from a Sick Society first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

In 1940 George Orwell wrote:  “Almost certainly we are moving into an age of totalitarian dictatorships – an age in which freedom of thought will be at first a deadly sin and later on a meaningless abstraction. The autonomous individual is going to be stamped out of existence.”  George Orwell, Inside the Whale George Orwell’s dystopian novel […] The post Is 1984 Becoming a Reality? – George Orwell’s Warning to the World first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

In his 1958 book Brave New World Revisited, Aldous Huxley wrote the following:  “If the first half of the twentieth century was the era of the technical engineers, the second half may well be the era of the social engineers — and the twenty-first century, I suppose, will be the era of World Controllers, the scientific […] The post Do We Live in a Brave New World? – Aldous Huxley’s Warning to the World first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

Referring to the individual who descends into the depths of the mind, Nietzsche wrote:  “He enters a labyrinth, and multiplies a thousandfold the dangers that life in itself brings with it – of which not the least is that nobody can see how and where he loses his way, becomes solitary, and is torn to pieces by […] The post What Happened to Nietzsche? – Madness and the Divine Mania first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

In January of 1889, the great German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche went mad. One year later, Nietzsche’s friend Peter Gast visited him in a mental asylum in Jena. He wrote the following:  “He did not look very ill…I believe Nietzsche would be just about as grateful to his rescuers as somebody who has jumped into the water […] The post Nietzsche and Madness – A Descent into the Depths first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“. . .when all is said and done, our own existence is an experiment of nature, an attempt at a new synthesis.”   Carl Jung, Structure & Dynamics of the Psyche While Carl Jung is best known for his ideas on the unconscious, be it his theory of the archetypes or his writings on the shadow side […] The post Carl Jung’s Method of Self-Development – The Path of Individuation first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error, if error seduce them. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim.” Gustav Le Bon, The Crowd: A Study of the […] The post The Manufacturing of a Mass Psychosis – Can Sanity Return to an Insane World? first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“Man does not make his ideas; we could say that man’s ideas make him.”   Carl Jung, Freud and Psychoanalysis Ideas are the seeds of our greatest creations, but they can also sow destruction. Ideas, when put into action, lead to individual and social flourishing or to individual suffering and social ruin. And certain ideas, […] The post The Mass Psychosis and the Demons of Dostoevsky first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“All one’s neighbours are in the grip of some uncontrolled and uncontrollable fear. . . In lunatic asylums it is a well-known fact that patients are far more dangerous when suffering from fear than when moved by rage or hatred.” Carl Jung, Psychology and Religion According to the psychologist Carl Jung the greatest threat to […] The post Is a Mass Psychosis the Greatest Threat to Humanity? first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“Put up with being laughed at on occasion; look around you, and give yourself a good shaking to find out who you really are.”   Epictetus, Discourses Common sense tells us that a modicum of concern for the opinions of others is useful in the cultivating of good relationships and the maintenance of social cohesion. But most people care too […] The post Why Caring What Others Think Breeds Mental Illness first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

View all our videos on Manhood! A man can’t go out the way he came in…a man has got to add up to something! Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman In our previous series on Carl Jung and the Man-Child, we looked at why the phenomenon of the “man-child” is so prevalent in our times. […] The post Why are So Many Men Psychologically Infantile? first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“Monsters exist, but they are far too few in number to be truly dangerous; the most dangerous monsters are ordinary [men and women] ready to believe and obey without asking questions.” Primo Levi, The Truce Is a peaceful and prosperous society dependent on strict obedience to the laws and dictates of the state? Is voting the only proper […] The post How Civil Disobedience Safeguards Freedom and Prevents Tyranny first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“The weak have remedies, the wise have joys; superior wisdom is superior bliss.” Edward Young, Virtue’s Apology Some people pass from birth to death with both feet firmly planted on the sunny side of life. Such are the healthy-minded among us. These fortunate individuals are innately predisposed to joy and optimism and experience life as […] The post The Psychology of Joy – 3 Antidotes to Suffering first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“It is no more possible to make life easy than it is to grow a herb of immortality.” Carl Jung, Civilization in Transition In many ways life is a battle. A battle against our self-destructive tendencies, our weaknesses and fears. A battle against our mortal nature and the limits of time. A battle against bad habits and people who try to pull us down. And depending […] The post How to Thrive in the Battle of Life first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“That one is in despair is not a rarity; no, it is rare, very rare, that one is…not in despair.” Søren Kierkegaard, The Sickness Unto Death Is it possible to believe that we are leading a good life, but in actuality to be in a critical state of despair? Can conformity and the pursuit of social status […] The post Søren Kierkegaard and the Value of Despair first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“The great citizens of a country are not those who bend the knee before authority but rather those who, against authority if need be, are adamant as to the honor and freedom of that country.”  Albert Camus, Resistance, Rebellion, and Death Instead of respect for reason, open dialogue, freedom of speech and individual and property […] The post How the “Greater Good” is Used as a Tool of Social Control first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“When a man can say of his states and actions, “As I am, so I act,” he can be at one with himself . . .and he can accept responsibility for himself even though he struggles against it.” Carl Jung, Two Essays on Analytical Psychology Carl Jung was a man of eclectic interests and this […] The post Carl Jung – Inferiority Complexes and the Superior Self first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“Freedom is…the air we cannot do without, that we breathe without even noticing it until the time comes when, deprived of it, we feel that we are dying.” Albert Camus, Resistance, Rebellion, and Death It is a startling fact that throughout history freedom has been considered so precious that some individuals have preferred death to […] The post Freedom vs. Force – The Individual and the State first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

When we think of the forces that shape us, we often look back in time. We look to the events of our youth, to the influence of our peers, and to the way we were treated by our family. But while our past, or at least our conception of it, influences our sense of self, […] The post Escape Boredom – Leonardo da Vinci and a Guide to the Good Life first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“Neither necessity nor desire, but the love of power, is the demon of mankind. You may give men everything possible health, food, shelter, enjoyment but they are and remain unhappy . . . for the demon waits and waits; and must be satisfied. Let everything else be taken away from men, and let this demon […] The post The Psychology of Power – How to Dethrone Tyrants first appeared on Academy of Ideas.

“Now there are times when a whole generation is caught. . .between two ages, two modes of life, with the consequence that it loses all power to understand itself and has no standards, no security, no simple acquiescence.” Hermann Hesse, Steppenwolf Do we live in an age where normality has become a sickness? Has our […] The post Do We Live in a Sick Society? first appeared on Academy of Ideas.