Jung’s New Age Will Have an Ecological Framework.
Carl Jung foresaw a paradigm shift in 1940 he called a “New Age” and “Age of Aquarius” which we now realize must have an ecological framework. Ecopsychology examines our dysfunctional relationship with the environment and how we can deepen our connection with nature and Jung is the prototypical ecopsychologist: his entire system is based on an ecological sense of how the human psyche is part of nature. The green economists have much to contribute towards a paradigm shift especially when archetypically framed by the I Ching’s hexagram 42—Increase.
About Dr. Dennis Merritt:
Dennis Merritt, PhD, LCSW has an MA in Humanistic Psychology, a PhD in Insect Pathology from UC-Berkeley, and is a graduate of the Zurich Jung Institute. He practices as a Jungian analyst and ecopsychologist in Milwaukee, WI.
Dr. Merritt grew up on a small dairy farm in Wisconsin where he developed a deep connection with the land, hence the title of his four-volume Dairy Farmer’s Guide to the Universe: Jung, Hermes, and Ecopsychology. He is particularly interested in the ecopsychological dimensions of Jungian theory and practice, working with an ecology of the psyche beginning at the intra-psychic level and extending to others and the environment. He lectures and conducts workshops on Jung and the environment, including demonstrating how dreams and the I Ching can be used to connect more deeply to the natural world. As an ecologist he finds the application of complexity theory to the main Jungian concepts to be the most meaningful way to talk about archetypes and conceptualizing the analytic process.
Dr. Merritt’s forte is dream work, often incorporating the I Ching into the analytic process. His particular interests include men’s issues, spirituality, the environment, and an archetypal analysis of films and cultural phenomena. His blog has articles on “Hunger Games from a Jungian, Political, and Environmental Perspective”, “Guns and the American Psyche” (July, 2013), and writings on Star Wars, climate change, dreams and the I Ching, sacred landscapes, synchronicity, George Floyd (June 2022), and Covid-19 (June, 2022).