Jacob Boehme and the Spiritual Roots of Psychotherapy

Glenn J. McCullough, PhD, RP, is Assistant Professor of Practical Theology and Spiritual Care at Emmanuel College and Knox College in the University of Toronto. He is an ordained minister and a psychotherapist in private practice.

• PrefaceAcknowledgmentsList of Figures and TablesAbbreviationsHymn to Wisdom1 Introduction: Modernity and the Borderland of Dreams1.1 The Larger Context: Dreams and Modern Hubris1.2 Theorists, Themes, and Thesis1.3 Review of Literature1.4 Methodology and Primary Texts1.5 Chapter Summary2 Augustine and the Framework of Theological Psychology2.1 Augustine as Psychotherapist2.2 Map of the Soul: Trinitarian Psychology2.3 Dream Theory: Jacob’s Ladder to Heaven2.4 Dream Interpretation: Wisdom and Archetypes2.5 Conclusion: Therapeutic Implications3 Jacob Boehme and the Imaginal Rebirth of Theological Psychology3.1 Imaginal Rebirth3.2 Boehme’s Imaginal Realm in Historical Context3.3 Boehme as Magus3.4 Boehme as Mystic3.5 Boehme as Lutheran Integrationist4 Boehme as Psychotherapist4.1 Method: Psychology and Theology4.2 Ontology: Three Levels4.3 Approach: Psycho-Mythical Theology5 Boehme’s Map of the Soul: the Birth of the Unconscious Mind5.1 The Soul-Body Nexus in the Micro- and Macrocosm5.2 Abyss: the Eternal Dark Fire of Inner Desire5.3 Wisdom: the Eternal Holy Light of Inner Understanding (“Verstand”)5.4 Knowledge: the Temporal Realm of Outer Reason (“Vernunft”)5.5 Interactions and Transformations: the Twofold and Threefold Soul6 Boehme’s Theory of Dreams: Building the Body of Light6.1 Ecstasy, Magia, and Dream Deception6.2 Becoming Joseph: Dreaming the New Human6.3 Dreaming from Darkness to Light6.4 The Great Code of Dream Interpretation7 Boehme’s Theory of Dream Interpretation: Seven Steps to Heaven7.1 Day One: Darkness, Light, and Primordial Life-Energy7.2 Day Two: Time, Eternity, and the Oceanic Feeling7.3 Day Three: Dry Land, Vegetation, and the Terra Firma of “I-ness”7.4 Day Four: Heavenly Bodies, Astral Reason, the Hidden Dark Mind, and the Transforming Centre7.5 Day Five: Elemental Creatures, Expanding Awareness, and the Harmonious Soul7.6 Day Six: the Microcosm, or Humanity in Full7.7 Day Seven: Sabbath, Shalom, and Silence8 Freud, Jung and the Psychodynamic Rebirth of Dreams8.1 Freud’s Map of the Soul: Raising Hell8.2 Jung’s Map of the Soul: Collision of Opposites8.3 Freud’s Theory of Dreams: Word and Image8.4 Jung’s Theory of Dreams: Opening the Inner World8.5 Freud’s Dream Hermeneutic and the Psychosexual Stages of Development8.6 Jung’s Dream Hermeneutic and Individuation9 Conclusion9.1 The Question of Direct or Indirect Influence9.2 Implications for Scholars and Therapists9.3 ConclusionBibliographyIndex of Names and Subjects

"In this fascinating study, Prof. McCullough adds another significant name to the list of modern psychotherapy’s forerunners and ancestors, the German mystic Jakob Boehme. In doing this, he draws renewed attention to the religious ancestry of what became psychoanalysis and depth psychotherapy with Freud and Jung. This book is a dedicated attempt to recover this lineage and birthright. The author’s exciting argument is a strong contribution to the gathering momentum to integrate spirituality into the clinical work of post-modern psychotherapists." - Murray Stein, author of Jung’s Map of the Soul