It may be all too easy to get stuck when we perceive the patterns of ecological destruction and political conflict we are witnessing these days, and to feel disquiet and even grief about what's happening in the world around us. A lot of people are suffering because they don't know what to make of what's going on in the culture and on the planet, and they feel powerless to do anything about it. We are affected by daily news about the extinction of species, loss of life, and people mistreating one other, sometimes in terrible ways.

Working with dreams allows us to tap into the psyche, which leads us in a certain direction in the process of becoming more whole, a process Jung referred to as individuation.

Jung often focused on how individuation was about leading us back into the collective. The work is about individuation, and then to be able to go back out into the world and be a part of raising consciousness and deepening consciousness in the world, and being actively engaged with others in the collective.

Depth psychology is also deeply concerned with suffering, suggests Fanny Brewster, Jungian analyst and core faculty at Pacifica Graduate Institute. It's about awareness, commitment, and being human in a way that requires you to suffer. With depth psychology, you learn that the way out is through, Brewster insists. Going through darkness and not-knowing becomes a psychology of discovery, of finding light within the darkness, which ultimately is a source of great richness.

Listen to my new audio interview or read a detailed summary article of “Dreams, Calling, Suffering, and Individuation: Finding Light in the Darkness” with Jungian Analyst and New Pacifica Core Faculty Member, Fanny Brewster: http://www.pacificapost.com/counseling-and-community-mental-health-...