J. W. T. Redfern / JWTRedfern
There may be in each of us an impulse, however fleeting, to destroy the world with its evil, its problems and conflicts, either in momentary anger or in the hope of starting afresh. Now that we have the technical means to make this fantasy come true, it behooves us to explore its sources in a very serious way.It is obvious that groups, like individuals, sometimes enact the dark part of their nature in mass movements or "accidental" events, even when this dark part is only a small part of a whole with the best intentions and genuine ideals.In spite of detente, therefore, the destruction of the world by nuclear means, massive pollution, or political explosion remains a distinct possibility unless our hidden destructiveness is better understood.Creative regression, living closer to one's fundamental nature, is what we are learning about today. But how to apply our knowledge on a world scale so as collectively to avoid violent swings and explosions is., of course, the unsolved problem of our era of massive blindness and consequent mass behaviors.Joseph Redfearn, M.D., was born in 1921 in a Yorkshire mining town and educated at John Hopkins, Baltimore, and Maudsley Hospital, London. Since 1968 he has been a training analyst for the Society of Analytical Psychology in London. He is a past chair and was its director of training for many years. He continues to practice in London.Table of ContentsIntroductionThe Bomb in Dreams: UnfaceableAspects of the SelfFrom Concrete Behaviour to the Ability to Use Metaphors and Symbols in TherapyThe Interdependence of OurOuter and Inner WorldsThe Explosive Self and the Maternal ContainerTrees, Fountains, Eggs, Volcanoes, and Bombs: Symbols of Renewal or Breakthrough of Varying Degrees of ViolenceAtom Bomb and Divine Child: Regression and ResponsibilityHistory Seen Partly as Concretized Mythology: The Interaction of the Subpersonalitiesof the SelfHuman SacrificeThe Rise of the Male Gods and the Separation of the OppositesPavlov, Freud, and Jung on the Meeting of Oppositeshe Democratization of the Divine SelfThe Healing ApocalypseThe Task of HealinSummary and Conclusions
