The Religious Function of the Psyche

The evolving self: finding meaning in near-death experiences using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

“…The progression along a spiritual path is often viewed through modern eyes as a fulfilling and constantly enriching experience, yet historically it has been strongly linked with struggle and dark nights of the soul; a lonely journey where difficult and painful situations are often the most profound providers of spiritual wisdom (Corbett, 1996;Eichmann, 1991). Throughout the interview, Deborah repeatedly evoked this symbolic image of the 'path' and the 'journey', underwriting her determination, autonomy and responsibility to honour her pledge.…”

Interpreting the Anomalous: Finding Meaning in Out-of-Body and Near-Death Experiences

“…Smith, 1999). Corbett (1996) has proposed that the meaning of an event has a form of "dispositional power" over how a person will think and behave following that event. Findings from this study have shown that NDEs can be fruitfully regarded as critical life events (Dougherty, 1990) in terms of the transformation of person's sense of self, identity, and their views towards relationships and general life directions.…”

Successful Aging: Jungian Contributions to Development in Later Life

“…This is an area where Jungian psychology is particularly helpful, not least because it allows one to develop a spirituality that is not dependent on any particular religious institution or set of doctrines or dogma. Instead, one's spirituality can be based on direct experience of the sacred, as I've tried to show in a series of books (Corbett, 1996(Corbett, , 2007(Corbett, , 2011. In brief, this means developing a relationship between the ego and the transpersonal levels of the psyche.…”