In a journal article recently published in the Journal of Analytical Psychology – as part of a special issue on the environmental and climate crisis – Cécile Rozuel and co-author Christian R. Bellehumeur reflect upon the stories we tell ourselves and others regarding the state of the planet, and the power of naming and relating to the emotions elicited by these stories.
While the collective devaluation of the planet through man-made climate change triggers complex and deeply challenging emotions in a growing number of people (ourselves included), the naming of these emotions and their analysis in a symbolic, imaginative way provide us with a unique opportunity to glimpse at our responsibility and our capacity to enact change – changing our mindsets, our worldviews, our ways of relating to our self and to the world around us in both literal, visceral ways as well as through the symbolic and sacred dimension, the numinous realm.
The paper’s final pages offer a brief outline of Cécile’s alchemical recipe for honouring and coping with the guilt and shame echoing eco-anger. What about you?
What is your relationship story with the planet?
Where does this story resonate in your being – viscerally? symbolically?
How do you cope with ambiguous emotions and the inescapable weight of our collective responsibility towards Mother Earth as we face the dramatic implications of climate change?
Access the paper by clicking on the image above or here.