The Problem Is the Solution: A Jungian Approach to a Meaningful Life

Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung said that a life without meaning is unlived. Today our secular worship of the material, the superficial, and the instantly gratifying is as powerful as any ancient idol worship. While our problems appear to be the enemy, they are really our secret allies, and by wrestling with them we become whole. Weiner and Simmons show us how to rely on the natural, spontaneous images that emerge from our dreams, daily life, relationship problems, and symptoms as the seeds of our own healing. We must recognize that our problems have not been randomly inflicted on us; they have a purpose, to act as guideposts pointing the way toward healing and wholeness.

Marcella Bakur Weiner is a fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA), adjunct professor of psychology at Marymount Manhattan College, and president of the Mapleton-Midwood Community Mental Health Center. Mark B. Simmons is co-director of Amaury, a non-profit foundation providing training, seminars, and clinical supervision of treatment based on the work of Carl Jung. He also maintains a private, spiritually-based practice in New York City.