Our guest this week is GARY LACHMAN, a founding member of the rock group Blondie, and the author of more than twenty books, including a biography of C.G. Jung, and a new memoir, Touched by the Presence: From Blondie’s Bowery and Rock and Roll to Magic and the Occult.
We explore Gary’s wide-ranging interests, from the nature of consciousness and the history of the occult to the lives and ideas of Rudolf Steiner, Aleister Crowley, and Colin Wilson.
Our current era of cultural dissolution and environmental destruction can feel towering and fearsome. Yet might this moment also represent the state of dire necessity required for a change in consciousness? It is important to realize that we are always part of the great mythic cycle of life, death, and rebirth, so during times of disintegration cultivating our capacity for awe, attending to synchronicities, and listening to the wisdom of dreams can help us find a path forward. Jung’s search for meaning and a relationship to the infinite offers a way to approach this question.
“Probably, as in all metaphysical questions, both are true: Life is or has meaning and meaninglessness. I cherish the anxious hope that meaning will preponderate and win the battle.” (C.G. Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections).
There are still spaces available to join Lisa Marchiano and Gary Lachman in Switzerland for the Kosmos Institute’s First Annual Colloquium this December 17-21. This Jungian Life podcast listeners can claim a 15% discount – details here.
Resources from the Episode
Learn more about Gary Lachman’s work:
- Gary Lachman, Jung the Mystic: The Esoteric Dimensions of Carl Jung’s Life and Teachings
- Gary Lachman, Touched by the Presence: From Blondie’s Bowery and Rock and Roll to Magic and the Occult
- Find a complete list of Gary Lachman’s books here.
- Visit Gary Lachman’s website.
Find the other books discussed in the episode:
- Erich Fromm, Escape from Freedom
- Jean Gebser, The Ever-Present Origin
- Herman Hesse, Demian
- James Hillman, The Soul’s Code: In Search of Character and Calling
- Paul Kingsnorth, Against the Machine: On the Unmaking of Humanity
- Iain McGilchrist, The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World
Watch the films we discuss:
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